Engendering the Peace Process in Africa Activity Report 2008

Engendering the Peace Process in Africa

2008 Report of Activities

Regional Office for Africa International Secretariat Liaison Office Immeuble du Pied du Phare des 8, Rue du Vieux-Billard 777 United Nations Plaza Mamelles, Appt 1 et 2, 1er Etage P.O. Box 5037 New York 10017-3521 P.O. Box 45077 Fann CH-1211 Geneva 11 New York Dakar, Senegal Switzerland USA Tel: +221 33 869 8106 Tel: +41 22 328 80 50 Tel: +1 212 687-1369 Fax: +221 33 860 20 47 Fax: +41 22 328 80 52 Fax: +1 212 661-4188 Email: [email protected] Email: [email protected] Email: [email protected]

TABLE OF CONTENTS

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ______3 Challenges ______3 Opportunities ______4

INTRODUCTION______5

I. EMPOWERMENT ______6 Programmatic area 1: PEACE PROMOTION ______6 Programmatic area 2: POST CONFLICT RECONSTRUCTION ______14

II. ADVOCACY______24 Programmatic Area 1: Transforming policies into practice for gender parity and mainstreaming ____24

III. PANAFRICAN CENTRE FOR GENDER, PEACE AND DEVELOPMENT (PAC)______34 Background ______34 Summary of Activities ______34

IV. INSTITUTIONAL BUILDING______38 1. Partnership and Fundraising ______38 2. Fundraising ______43 3. Research and Documentation ______52 4. Information and Communication ______53 5. Coordination ______56 6. Executive Board ______59 7. Monitoring and Evaluation ______59

V. CHALLENGES, LESSONS LEARNT AND WAY FORWARD ______62 Challenges ______62 Lessons learned ______62 Way forward ______63

VI. PARTNERS ______64

ANNEXES ______65 APPENDIX No.1 ______65

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

This Annual report outlines the progress made towards achieving the goal as stated in the strategic Action Plan 2008-2012: Engendering the peace process for the attainment of human security and durable peace in Africa. FAS strategy is twofold – empowerment and advocacy – and each activity has been carried out to ensure that all programmes succeed in the attainment of the ultimate goal.

To do so, FAS places special emphasis in investing in women and girls because its 12 years of experience show that their empowerment benefits whole communities.

In 7 conflict and post-conflict African countries, and three regions, FAS projects advance the empowerment of African women to assume a leadership role in peace building. It also works in the entire continent to promote women’s effective participation and gender mainstreaming into policies and programmes relating to peace, security and development.

FAS is consolidating its work in the Great Lakes by supporting gender machineries, governments and civil society to develop and implement the National Action Plans on UN SCR 1325. During the last two years, the work of the organization has been focused on Mano River particularly in Liberia for the preparation of the International Colloquium and the elaboration of the national Action Plan.

This year FAS focussed mostly on Sudan and the crisis affecting women and children in the country. FAS has been able to respond to the call made by our sisters of Darfur to make a change on the road to peace in Sudan.

Working side by side with communities to create lasting solutions that respect local culture and knowledge, FAS continues to make a substantial contribution to the implementation of the regional and international instruments that promote gender equality and empower women through building peace with and for women. FAS also joined forces with the GIMAC network to monitor and evaluate the implementation of the SDGEA by the African Union member states.

Challenges

One of FAS’ major challenges was to fight the increasing violence against women, bridging the gap between African women leaders and grassroots women and effectively mobilizing women from all sectors of society around a common agenda.

Another challenge was a lack of sustainable financing for the implementation of projects and programmes deeply rooted in the priorities of FAS, its partners and allies.

The level of engagement, commitment and solidarity amongst women in conflict areas also constituted a major challenge for the organization within the peace process.

Nevertheless FAS persevered and managed to make significant progress in the countries it focussed on: Sudan, Liberia and the Great Lakes Region (DRC, Rwanda and Burundi).

Opportunities

The different platforms (e.g. the Forums) that have been created and sustained for advocacy and encouraging the need to have one voice as the women fight for their place at the negotiating table.

The use of instruments such as the African Union’s Solemn Declaration on Gender Equality in Africa, the Protocol on Human and People’s Rights on the Rights of Women in Africa and the United Nations resolutions 1325 and more recently 1820 to fight for their rights.

Partnerships and networks created are also a major opportunity for FAS to develop and carry on its work and commitments. We value our sustained relationship with our partner networks and the engagement of the African Women leaders in supporting women in crisis, without whom our work would have been incomplete and we hope their support and commitment will continue in the coming years.

Finally, we would like to thank our old and new donors for their constant support 1.

Bineta Diop Executive Director

1 The list of donors is attached in the annex.

INTRODUCTION

This report is prepared as a narrative of Femmes Africa Solidarité's (FAS) activities from January to December 2008. It provides an overview of the activities undertaken by FAS this year in furthering the objectives of its five-year programme on engendering peace processes in Africa. It describes the background, objectives and outcomes of national, sub-regional, regional, continental, international and institutional-building activities. The report concludes by presenting a brief overview of FAS’ future direction in each programme area.

FAS works in three phases: peace promotion, post conflict reconstruction and transforming policies into practice for gender parity and mainstreaming. The strategies used to carry out these activities are Women Empowerment and Advocacy.

« ... At the moment there is a network in Africa called Femmes Africa Solidarité that is helping women. It worked in Burundi for conflict resolution. It has worked in the DRC and continues to do a lot more. It is working currently with women that I met, at the Commission on the Status of Women in New York recently. Women have reached out together; to members of different communities, different political parties and would not allow themselves to be divided by the violent conflicts happening in their countries. ” H.E. Mrs Mary Robinson , Former President of Ireland and chairperson of the Council of Women Leaders , in an interview on BBC's political news programme, HARD talk, on the role of working women worldwide. March 11, 2008

I. EMPOWERMENT

Programmatic area 1: PEACE PROMOTION

A) The Horn of Africa - SUDAN: Engendering the Peace Process in Darfur

1. Background

Between the 2 nd - 5 th September 2007, Ms. Bineta Diop FAS Executive Director, together with a group of seven prominent women, led by Mrs. Mary Robinson, President of Realizing Rights, former Irish President and High Commissioner of the Office of the High Commission for Human Rights, and with the support of Oxfam, visited women, who were victims of rape and gender-based violence in Darfur in refugee camps and internally displaced people camps in Chad.

The goal of the fact-finding and solidarity mission was to collect first-hand testimonies of the situation in Chad and in Sudan, as well as of the suffering and impact the conflict has had on the population, particularly on women and children.

After the mission, the eight women engaged in a strong advocacy campaign, which included direct dialogue with world leaders around the world and addressing regional and international organizations, such as the United Nations Security Council.

Following requests made during the field visit by several women’s organizations and authorities in Chad and Sudan, FAS developed a project called ‘Engendering the Peace Process in Darfur.’

All the activities of this project are supported by DFID and Norway.

2. Project Goal

Since its inception in 1996, the organization has worked to promote the leading role of women in the prevention, management and resolution of conflicts on the African continent particularly in Burundi, DRC, Rwanda, Liberia and Sierra Leone.

Based on its expertise and the lessons learned from previous experience, FAS’ main goal in Darfur is to facilitate and support the engendering of the peace process.

In order to achieve this, five areas of work were identified, each one with a set of objectives and activities. The main areas are:

• Mapping women’s initiatives in Darfur. • Organization of a Conference of African Women dedicated to Darfur. • Advocacy at the Regional and International level. • Capacity building of Darfuri women. • Media outreach and documentation.

FAS’ efforts in Darfur are intended to merge with the initiatives that are already in place. In addition, FAS seeks the partnership and support of organizations working in other fields relevant to the peace and reconstruction process.

3. Activities 2008

FAS hired four consultants (Ms Marema Toure, Ms Jessica Nkhuue, Ms Berewa Jommo and Ms Monica Juma) to contribute in the implementation of the activities coordinated by its staff in the International Secretariat.

(i) January • Field Study -FAS commissioned 4 consultants to do a study in the field (12-19 th January 2008) in order to map Women’s’ organizations and Initiatives in Darfur, Khartoum and South Sudan. The consultants looked at the various categories of leadership roles and positions that women are holding; examined the extent to which women are involved or not involved in the peace process; and investigated the challenges women face in participating in peace building.

The report formed the basis of the first women consultation on Darfur held in Addis Ababa on the margins of the African Union Heads of State and Government Summit – which helped to develop the Darfuri Women Plan of Action for Peace.

The study was an eye opener and gave valuable insights into the Darfur women’s movement for peace, which the other actors were, partners and activities.

• Consultation - In partnership with the Gender is my Agenda Campaign Network, UNECA, DFID, OSIWA, and the AU, FAS held the 1st African Women's Consultation on Darfur in Addis Ababa from 24th - 25th January, 2008. The forum constituted an important occasion to engage in an advocacy campaign on the suffering and impact the conflict has had on the population, particularly on women and children.

The Consultation was attended by about a 100 women and men comprising leaders of Women’s Organizations, IDP Camps; Peace Talk Facilitators; Civil society Organizations; Representatives of Government, and Political Parties; Women from the Diaspora; Representatives of the Private Sector; Journalists; Academics, Researchers.

The outcomes of the Consultation were the adoption of an Action plan , the creation of a Forum (Sudanese Women’s Forum on Darfur-SWOFOD) which allowed the women from Darfur to produce a DECLARATION which was used for advocacy purposes. Furthermore, Recommendations to the Sudanese Government, national civil society and International organizations were formulated.

• Advocacy - The Action Plan was also used throughout the year as an advocacy tool at the AU summits, the UN-CSW, the UN-HRC and the Security Council.

Some of the Sudanese women and FAS Staff at the International Women Forum in Addis Ababa.

Pre-Summit - On January 23rd, during the 11th Pre-Summit held in Addis Ababa, the Action Plan and Declaration prepared by the Sudanese Women were presented to the Ministers of Foreign Affairs of South Africa, Sudan and Senegal by a delegation composed of Sudanese women and African and international women leaders. Among them Ms Marie-Louise Baricako, Chair of FAS, (Tanzania), Ms Diop, (Senegal), and other members of FAS including Ms. Saïda Agrebi, (Tunisia), Ms. Marie-Thérèse Avéméka, (DR Congo), Dr. Amany Asfour, (Egypt), Dr. Nana Pratt, (Liberia), and Ms Marema Touré, (Senegal).

The Action Plan was then distributed by the Foreign Ministers and presented to the AU Council of Ministers.

Exhibition - FAS and Oxfam, amongst others, organized an exhibition and a high level reception on 28th January, during the AU Summit in Addis Ababa that created opportunities for discussion and advocacy as a means of raising awareness around the issue of Darfur, Chad, Somalia and Kenya amongst the delegates.

(ii) February Panel Discussion - During the 52nd session of the UN CSW in New York, FAS organized a panel titled ‘Sudanese Women’s Voices on Darfur’ on 29th February where a presentation of the Sudanese Women’s Declaration was made by 2 members of Sudanese IDP camps.

The event was attended by more than 60 participants, including the AU Chief Mediator in the Darfur Peace Process Ambassador Sam Ibok from the AU, Mr Amir Osman from the Save Darfur Coalition, and other representatives from UNECA, AU, UNDP, UNIFEM, AWDF, Sudanese Women General Union, Hawa Society for Women (Sudan), and Realizing Rights. FAS members who attended the event were Ms Diop, Ms Sol Pradelli, the Coordinator, Ms Fanny Petibon, the partnership and fundraising officer, Ms Kukila Bindala, Administration and Finance Officer and Ms Rosalie Lo, the programme officer in the Dakar Office.

The Sudanese delegation met with several UN agencies to sensitize them on the situation in Sudan and to inform them on the outcomes of the Women’s Forum.

(iii) March • Panel Discussion -On the margins of the 7th Session of the UN Human Rights Council , FAS in collaboration with World YWCA and with the support of the Organisation Internationale de la Francophonie, facilitated a panel discussion on “The Road to Peace and Justice: Sudanese Women Speak on Darfur” on 12 th March 2008.

Panel discussion on “The Road to Peace and Justice: Sudanese Women Speak on Darfur, Palais des Nations.

During the Panel, the elected members of the Interim Steering Committee came to Geneva, shared their experiences and presented the initiatives that they had undertaken as SWOFOD. They raised the issues of their poor representation at the peace table and their lack of capacity for effective participation and requested for assistance from International Organizations to enable them fruitfully engage in peace processes in Sudan. The Sudanese women called upon member states to speed up the deployment of UNAMID and to put up solid measures to prohibit the use of rape as a war tactic.

The women used the occasion to draft a statement which they read out on 17th March urging Ms. Sima Samar, Special Rapporteur on the situation of Human Rights in Sudan, to become an effective advocate for the Women of Darfur.

The Sudanese delegation also met with H.E. Salim Ahmed Salim, African Union Special Envoy to Darfur, H.E. Elisabeth Rehn, the Former Minister of Defense of Finland, Ms Yakin Ertürk, the Special Rapporteur on Violence Against Women, Ms Sima Samar, Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Sudan; Mrs. Khadija Masri ,the Permanent Observer from the Delegation of the African Union at the UN, Ambassador Mohamed Sahnoun, Ms. Margaret Kuster, a representative from the Netherlands, Mr. Daniel Duvillard, ICRC, Head of Operations for East Africa and Ms. Florence Tercier-Holstrone, ICRC Women and War Unit, and Mr. Pekka Metso, representative of Finland. The meetings were aimed at discussing how to integrate the Sudanese women voices within the peace process.

• Meeting between FAS, the SWOFOD network and consultants. During the 7 th session of the Human Rights Council in Geneva, FAS organized a side meeting at its headquarters with the members of the Sudan Interim Steering Committee and two consultants in order to draft a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) concerning the different tasks of each actor involved in the Sudan Project. This was done.

• Training -To provide women with the necessary skills to contribute to the engendering of the peace process, on March 15 th and 17th, about 20 people including Sudanese women from the Steering Committee, as well as FAS staff, networks and working groups were trained on the UN Security Council Resolution 1325, the Solemn Declaration on Gender Equality in Africa, the Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights on the rights of women in Africa, the UN Convention of the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women – CEDAW, and the HRC itself.

FAS facilitated this training to make the participants understand and become familiar with international and African women’s instruments and how their own Declaration was related to the instruments before training them on thematic issues such as mediation and negotiating techniques.

Furthermore the training allowed the women to recognize how they could use the international instruments such as the CEDAW and the UN Resolutions for their own advocacy work back in their country. iv) April • Assessment Mission - The overall objective of the mission was to assess the training needs as a basis for formulating training materials for a series of capacity building activities for the Sudanese Women.

The mission also sought to explore the requirements for setting up of a Secretariat to support the Interim Steering Committee, the location for the next forum and engagement in communication, information and advocacy activities.

There were four main outcomes identified namely: a) Training topics as well as trainers were identified and it was agreed that part of the training would be carried out in local languages including Arabic. Among the topics suggested were: analysis and management of conflict; national, regional and international mechanisms for peace building; understanding of the Darfur Peace Agreement; understanding of gender based violence, human rights and peace building concepts; management of natural resources and institutional capacity building for women’s organizations.

b) It was agreed that the Secretariat should be located in Khartoum and work closely with all the chapters of SWOFOD.

c) Klaimendo, in El Fasher was proposed as the possible venue for the 2 nd SWOFOD. The number of participants was set at about 400 people, with 70% representation from the people of Darfur.

d) The need to prioritize the issues based on the common agenda for peace negotiations and the common issues at the grassroots level was identified particularly with regard to women. It was also proposed that a consultation take place at the Diaspora level in addition to the regular consultations taking place in Sudan

v) August • Mission to El Fasher, North Darfur, Nyala and South Darfur – FAS consultant, Ms Berewa Jommo together with Ms Diop led the 3 rd Mission to Darfur to consolidate the women’s peace agenda through a full consultative process and to implement technical facilities and administrative mechanisms for convening of the 2 nd Forum from August 22 nd – 31 st 2008.

The mission strengthened the collaboration between FAS, SWOFOD and the AU Liaison office in Sudan. The team was also able to meet members of the Government of Sudan such as the Minister of Gender; Mr Rodolphe Adada, the Joint Special Representative and the Chief of Staff of UNAMID; heads of International NGOs and the Wali (Governor) of North Darfur were the 2 nd Women’s consultation was expected to take place in October 2008.

Two workshops were held during the mission: the El Fasher Trust and Team Building Workshop to which 35 people participated and the Women Empowerment Workshop for IDPs which had 59 women and 4 men coming from 8 IDP camps.

The consultation meetings held in different parts of the country showed a general consensus on the need for African women to change the image of Africa and commitment towards continued support for the women’s agenda. Among the outcomes of the mission were the sensitization of relevant authorities regarding the organization of the Second Women’s Forum and the formation of the SWOFOD network.

Ambassador Mahmoud Kane, Head of the AU's Liaision Office in Sudan, supported the process and facilitated most of the meetings with the AU Ambassadors held throughout the mission.

vi) September

The Secretariat was established on 19 th September.

An MoU was signed between the Darfur Darfur Dialogue and Consultation (DDDC) and FAS, the result of which was the donation of office space consisting of a reception area, meeting space for about 15 persons, and one office, all furnished with basic furniture. Three computers and a scanner are loaned from the African Union Liaison Office. The office is on the second floor of the Darfur Peace Agreement Implementation Team (DPAIT) Building

The Secretariat maintains constant communication with the zones and streamlines the mobilization activities. It also serves as a link between the FAS office in Geneva and the zones, ensuring that the needs of the zones are responded to expeditiously, and the activities are well facilitated. It has also provided a neutral space for women to hold meetings, have discussions, and visit for purposes of consultation. The building also has a Board room on the Ground Floor, which we have access to. FAS have been able to hold seven meetings for women since June 2008.

• Media and Outreach

Members of the media and some Sudanese delegates attend the press conference

There was widespread media coverage of the first AWCOD with more than 20 journalists participating. This represented both the print and broadcast media. A press conference was held at the end of the two day event (January 24) at which international and local media were invited.

The outcome documents of the Consultation (the Declaration and a Plan of Action for Peace) were presented.

Some of the media present were BBC, Radio France Internationale, Agence France Press, West Africa Democracy Radio, Integrated Regional Information News Networks (IRIN), Voice of America, Deutseh Werve, Africa Press Agency, Sub Saharan Informer, and Guardian newspaper, Ethiopian News Agency, The Daily Monitor and Ghana News Agency.

Press Releases before and after the event were distributed to help raise awareness on the situation of women in Darfur and the AWCOD.

4. Constraints

In the field:

• The Darfur issues have social, economic, political and military dimensions. These need to be considered in any effort to carry out capacity building;

• Insecurity in Darfur: carrying out of activities must be done with utmost care and approval must be sought in all instances

• Customs and traditions which relegate women and their activities to the private sphere still prevent many from participating in peace building or income generating activities;

• The women’s movement in Darfur is weak institutionally and organisationally. Many women’s affiliation to different political parties prevents them from working together harmoniously. Women’s voices need to be harnessed outside of political parties;

• Much as there is the Darfur Peace Agreement (DPA) in place, the region is not stable. The DPA itself is not popular among most Darfurians as it is not regarded as an all inclusive process;

• GBV was a highly traumatic experience for the women. UNFPA is already taking the lead in this area. The issue is to ensure that the survivors are getting the necessary assistance and their ability to participate in peace processes is not hampered by the repercussions of GBV in the conflict situation.

In the management:

• In terms of Logistics and Security, many difficulties have been experienced in getting the entry/exit visas to and from Darfur to allow for movement within the country to do our work. Added to this, no protection is provided during missions.

• Choosing representatives from every sector of the Sudanese society for Forums and Consultations was a very difficult process. The process leading to a bottom-up choice of representatives was a very hard and long one.

• Officials’ suspicious attitude towards the organization complicated the work further.

5. Way Forward

• Productively use the Forum, the consultations and the missions which attracted the interest of members of government such as the Sudan Minister of Foreign Affairs and Vice President for promotion of the women’s agenda.

• Making strategic partnerships and lobbying the right leaders to ensure the support of respected women and men in Darfur and Sudan as a whole.

• Building tactical alliances with UN

• Agencies including UNAMID, UNIFEM and UNFPA, in building the capacity of women in Sudan and Darfur

• Need to balance the needs of the different interest groups, and to be inclusive particularly when designing capacity building programmes.

• It is important to continue advocacy through encouraging the participation of Sudanese women at Regional and International Fora.

• Use of the international community and partners’ keen interest to contribute to our initiatives.

6. Networking

Our project in Sudan has been supported by DFID, Norway, UN Agencies, the African Union and AWDF.

7. Partnerships

Please see the table in the annex.

Programmatic area 2: POST CONFLICT RECONSTRUCTION

A) Building Democratic Institutions through Gender Equality in the DRC

This project was developed with the aim of engendering the democratic process in DRC to ensure full and equitable participation of women in all decision –making processes and opportunities and the protection of women’s human rights for a peaceful and sustained human development. It is supported by UNDP and UNIFEM with funding from the UN Democracy Fund (UNDEF). The objectives of the project are: • To build the capacity of DRC policy-makers at various levels in leadership, advocacy, coalition building and women’s human rights; • To enable project beneficiaries in partnership with “Le Cadre de Concertation des Femmes Congolaises” (CAFCO) and other stakeholders of the “Gender is my Agenda Campaign” to support the adoption of laws, policies and programs that promote justice, reconciliation and equitable participation

These will be achieved through the provision of training on gender issues and advocacy within the framework of the Gender is My Agenda Campaign network and the landmark Solemn Declaration on Gender Equality in Africa. The activities of the project have been executed by UNDP and implemented by FAS.

Activities:

A workshop was held in Kinshasa on February 18-19, meant both as a framework for the validation and ownership of the project by all parties involved in the DRC and a consultation space for the establishment of the Project Steering Committee. This activity saw the participation of all the CAFCO focal points that came from all the 11 provinces of the DRC, women leaders of Civil Society associations, humanitarian assistance and development organizations and political parties. The workshop was attended by 15 government representatives (from the Ministries of Gender, Family and Children; Justice and Human Rights; Defence and Security, UN Agencies (UNDP, UNIFEM, UNICEF, UNFPA, MONUC Gender) as well as the European Union; 5 parliament members, 14 members from CSOs, 1 member from CAFCO, 1 FAS focal point and 1 media representative.

Outcomes of the mission were:

• Identification of guide lines for the finalization of the UNDEF project;

1) Advocacy and Awareness-raising

In early November 2008, a FAS Representative met with the Minister in charge of Gender Affairs, Family and Children. They brainstormed on the steering committee for the UNSCR 1325 activities outcomes, as well as the results of the baseline study.

The two consultants hired through the Gender and Parity Network of the Senate and the "Cadre Permanent de Concertation de la Femme Congolaise" (CAFCO) 2 delivered the results of their study on Gender mainstreaming within the parliament. The FAS representative and the Gender and Parity Network of the Parliament conducted a Strategic Meeting in December 2008, in Kinshasa where they adopted a strategy for the organization of a training course on "Leadership, Advocacy and Networking" in Kinshasa.

It is important to note that the participants of the training were all members of the Congolese Parliament, both at National and Provincial level. FAS managed to have representatives from all the different provinces in Kinshasa to ensure a better-targeted capacity building. Members of the civil society (both Networks and traditional leaders) were also present in recognition of the holistic approach that this programme wants to ensure.

2) Capacity Building

Two trainings were held for DRC parliamentarians, civil society and traditional chiefs in Dakar, Senegal as well as in Kinshasa, DRC.

••• July, Training in Dakar

A delegation of twenty people from the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), composed of parliamentarians, members of Congolese civil society and traditional chiefs attended a three day training workshop on 'Gender, Human Rights and Governance' in Dakar, Senegal. The group was led by a representative from the Ministry of Gender, Family and Children in the DRC.

The workshop was organised with the support of UNDEF and the UNDP in collaboration with the Senegalese Ministry of Family, Women's Entrepreneurship and Micro finance. It ran from 07 to 10 July.

It was aimed at strengthening the capacity of the DRC policy makers at all levels in terms of Gender and gender budgeting, respect for human rights and particularly human rights of women and their effective participation in political governance, democratic institutions and economic empowerment.

It should be noted that this training session fell within the framework of the implementation of a draft post-conflict reconstruction and gender equality policy in the establishment of democratic institutions in the DRC, a country victim to unrest.

A working session, led by Mr Kansoubaly Ndiaye, 1st Vice-President of the Senate, was organised in the Senate of Senegal, where Senegalese and Congolese parliamentarians had fruitful discussions on the question of involving gender in decision-making processes and also the necessity for reviewing of national budgets by deputies and senators.

The outcome of this workshop was the creation of avenues of cooperation and establishment of a relationship between Senegalese and Congolese parliamentarians which in the long run would benefit women.

2 See annex p.

••• December, Training in Kinshasa

The main objective of the training held in Kinshasa from the 4 - 5 December and supported by the Finnish Ministry of Foreign Affairs, was to have women CSO organizations and grassroots women gain the capacity to advocate for their rights and bridge the gap between gender policy and practice in peace, security and development.

In coordination with the steering committee and the gender machineries, FAS selected 22 participants among members of parliament, civil society organizations and traditional leaders to strengthen their capacities on "Leadership, Advocacy, Negotiations techniques and Network building".

The results of the workshop were: o To build a critical mass of supporters for gender equity and the social protection of women and girls o To have women voices heard and actions undertaken to make government accountable for implementation of UN SCR 1325 mandates.

3) Networking

Project Partners and Networks

Building Democratic Institutions ••• UNDP, UNDEF, UNIFEM through Gender Equality in the DRC ••• Ministre du Genre, de la Famille et de l’Enfant ••• République Démocratique du Congo (RDC) ••• “Le Cadre de Concertation des Femmes Congolaises (CAFCO) ••• GIMAC ••• Parliament

B) Mano River Region

A. Background

FAS actively worked in the Mano River region and facilitated the creation of the Mano River Women’s Peace Network (MARWOPNET) which has been recognised as a common platform in charge of engendering the peace processes in the sub-region.

FAS' work in the sub region strives to bring lasting and sustainable peace to the Mano River Union which comprises a network of women's organisations from Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea.

B. Overall objective

The overall programme is aimed at contributing to the efforts for engendering the peace and reconstruction processes for the empowerment of women within the overall framework of the revitalization of the Mano River region through capacity building and institutional strengthening.

The Specific objective for this year was to effectively participate in the preparations of the International Colloquium which would be held in Liberia in 2009 and to help the country designing the 1325 National Action Plan.

FAS was mandated by the International Colloquium to be the Vice Chair in charge of Africa as well as to lead the team on UN SCR 1325.

C. Summary of activities

(i) International Colloquium on Women’s Empowerment, Leadership Development, International Peace and Security

Background

In the year 2006, just before the Inauguration of President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf, a few African women leaders including Ms. Diop had a pre-session with President Sirleaf- Johnson and discussed how best to support Liberia, a post-conflict country, undergoing a peace building phase and most importantly with the first Woman President in Africa. It was during this meeting that the idea of the International Colloquium was born.

The International Colloquium aims to create an environment for women and their champions around the world to discuss, learn, demonstrate and act on the benefits and lessons learned from women in leadership.

Overall Objective

The Colloquium seeks to realize the aims of UN Security Council Resolution 1325 on women, peace and security to ensure that women are protected from the worst abuses in times of conflict and empower them to play their rightful and vital role in helping their countries prevent, end and recover from conflict, an agenda at the heart of FAS work since its formation.

Specific objective

FAS was designated to be vice-chair for Africa at the International Colloquium to lead the theme on the implementation of the UN Security Council Resolution 1325 together with other partners including the Liberian Ministry of Gender and Development; Government of Finland; Realizing Rights; UNIFEM; amongst others. This was in recognition of FAS commitment and continued engagement in women’s empowerment for peace and security in Africa and her achievements over the years.

Summary of activities

Throughout the year 2008, FAS continued to share information on the upcoming International Colloquium at all the fora that it was privileged to attend and also organized specific activities geared towards this end. a) January • FAS participated in the development of the objectives and expected outcomes of the Colloquium during the International Steering Committee meeting held in Liberia. The organization also supported the Secretariat by sending two people from our staff to assist in the preparations for the colloquium.

• During the 11 th Pre-summit consultative meeting on Gender Mainstreaming in the African Union in Addis Ababa, FAS informed 65 organizations which represented both Government officials and civil society on the upcoming colloquium, and on the various avenues available for their contribution and participation in the historic event. b) February • On the margins of the 52nd Session of the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) in New York, FAS organised and participated in various events and took this opportunity to inform its partners and networks on the Colloquium and way forward. c) May • Our Executive director, Ms Bineta Diop attended the Pre-meeting of the International Steering Committee and the update meeting organized by Hon. Elizabeth Rehn and attended by members of the Steering Committee and Ambassadors. During the meeting which was held in Brussels, Ms. Diop stressed upon the importance of the Colloquium for Africa as well as the necessity to move the agenda on women, peace and security forward. d) June • The ‘Gender is my Agenda Campaign’ which is coordinated by FAS funded the participation of two key delegates of the Steering Committee from Liberia on the Colloquium to attend the 12th Pre-Summit on Gender Mainstreaming in the African Union held in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt and discuss the preparation of the Colloquium during the panel. e) September During a conference held in Helsinki, chaired by Ms. Marjatta Rasi, the Finnish Under- Secretary of State, Ms. Diop participated to the launch of Finland’s NAP on 1325 and during a panel she emphasized on the need to look at the gaps and constraints with regard to the UNSCR 1325 and shared the work done by FAS within the AU to advocate for African Governments participation at the Colloquium.

Also in attendance was the Liberian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Hon. Olubanke King- Akerele, and Liberian Minister of Gender, Hon. Elisabeth Rehn of Finland and UNIFEM. In this occasion FAS signed an agreement with Hon. Varbah Gayflor for the support to the elaboration of the 1325 National Action Plan.

FAS executive director Ms Diop with Hon. Varbah Gayflor signing the agreement, Helsinki September 2008

D. Networking

Project Partners and Networks

Strengthening the capacity of the ••• UNIFEM, Working Group on Peace and Mano River Women’s Peace Network Security (New York) (MARWOPNET) ••• Steering Committee of the Colloquium ••• Government of Liberia ••• Government of Finland ••• GIMAC ••• Realizing Rights

Constraints, Opportunities and the Way Forward

Our organization put every effort in supporting the preparation of the Liberia Colloquium and provided its support and full participation during all the Steering Committee meetings.

Nevertheless there is still the need to overcome institutional obstacles, hence we will be fully involved in facilitating the UNSCR 1325 project in order to develop and launch the implementation of a National Action Plan.

(ii) 12th Pre-summit

FAS facilitated the participation of Ms. Yasmin Jusu-Sheriff, Board member of FAS and 1st Vice President of MARWOPNET's, together with other two representatives from the Steering Committee, to Sierra Leone to the 12 th Pre-summit meeting in Sharm el Sheikh in June 2008.

The objective of involving MARWOPNET in the pre-summit meeting was: ••• To strengthen the network and reinforce the relationship with FAS. ••• To share best practices and lessons learned with the Gender is my Agenda Network. ••• To inform and sensitise the network on the gender mainstreaming agenda and the GIMAC activities; ••• To discuss the preparation of the General Assembly and the International Colloquium.

Outcomes

The 12th Pre summit was the occasion for FAS to mobilize African Women and to make sure that the whole network was ready to actively contribute to the Colloquium and to the elaboration of the National Action Plan.

Thanks to the joint advocacy of Liberian Foreign Affairs H.E. Minister King-Akerele and FAS, a Resolution on the Colloquium was adopted by the AU Members of State under African Union Executive Council, 13th Ordinary Council Meeting, 24-28 June, Sharm El-Sheikh, Decision no EX.CL/Dec.447 (XIII) on Women’s Pre-Summit: The Executive Council:

a) TAKES NOTE of the International Colloquium on Women in Peace and Security, under the leadership of H.E. Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, President of the Republic of Liberia, to be held in March 2009;

b) ENCOURAGES Member States to participate in the International Colloquium;

c) REQUESTS the Commission to lend its support to the organization of this Colloquium

C) Great Lakes Region: Implementation of National Action Plans on the UNSCR 1325

Background

In 2007, FAS in its quest to further the effecting of the UNSCR 1325 on women, peace and security began a regional project on the development and implementation of National Actions in Rwanda, Burundi and the Democratic Republic of Congo. The project is supported by the Finnish Government and is scheduled for completion in 2009.

Project Goal, Overall Objective and Implementation Strategy

The project goal is to create a new social order that will make it possible to ensure, in the long run, gender equity and equality and gender mainstreaming into politics and programmes on peace, security and development, through the sustained and systematic implementation of a National Action Plan on Resolution 1325 of the United Nations Security Council.

The overall objective is that governments and all stakeholders give priority to the eradication of gender-related inequalities and obstacles that hamper women’s empowerment as well as the full implementation of their various human and humanitarian rights in peace and security policies and programmes at all levels. The project is planned for a three year life-span.

It is being conducted in such a way as to coincide with government, national and international priorities in each of the three countries.

The main activities included to set up a regional Steering Committee of the Project; reporting to the United Nations community through the organization of panels; constituting high level advocacy and lobbying networks; sharing good practices and lessons learnt during the AU pre- summits; awareness raising and education of all the actors concerned at the national and international level.

Summary of activities

During this year, FAS continued with activities geared towards the successful implementation of the project.

a) Baseline Study

The objective of the baseline study was to conduct a comprehensive countrywide baseline survey, one for each country – DRC, Burundi, Rwanda- that assessed the existing situation of the outcomes and impacts as expressed in the logical framework of the project.

The external consultant submitted the first draft of the study. This study gave a map of the current situation, the existing interventions and the future challenges with regard to the UNSCR 1325 in the three countries. It also ascertained to what extent the resolution had been or should be instrumental in increasing the women's involvement in peace building, peacemaking and reconstruction process in these countries

b) From November 4 th to 27 th a mission was launched in the Great Lakes Region to support the implementation of the project field work and ensuring technical assistance to the consultants operating at the grassroots level. c) In December FAS organized a regional meeting in Kigali, Rwanda to discuss the launch of the National Action Plan on 1325 on the basis of the baseline study previously conducted in the region and to select the members of the Steering Committee. The specific objective of the meeting was to make sure that governments and other actors prioritize the eradication of gender inequality as well as the removal of every obstacle to the participation of women and their full exercise of civil and political rights especially in conflict resolution processes.

Outcomes

• Organization of a workshop to evaluate the project and the setting up of a steering committee for the implementation in Rwanda; • Discussions on the preliminary work for the regional workshop.

Advocacy

FAS organized a meeting with Honourable Rose Nduwayo, Minister of Human Rights of Burundi, Ms Claire Sinarinzi, President of CAFOB, Collectif des association et ONGs Feminine du Burundi and Mrs. Elysee Djimandja, Parliamentarian of DRC to discuss the progress of implementation of the National Action Plans on UNSCR 1325 in the Great Lakes, during the 11 th Pre-Summit held in Addis Ababa in January.

The meetings enhanced the advocacy capacity of women’s groups and organizations within regional structures for monitoring the implementation of the UNSCR 1325 by providing a space for dialogue and debate on advocacy, monitoring and evaluation mechanisms of the international tools for women’s rights. Moreover, it provided opportunities for sharing the experiences and best practices amongst the women and stakeholders from the 3 countries.

At the fifty-second session of the CSW, which took place from 25 February to 3 March, FAS held three panels, also attended by Finland representatives, to shed light on the importance of UN SCR 1325, and how it is implemented in the National Action Plans of African countries in the Mano-River Region. At the end of the discussions, it was agreed that more shadow reports should be made and distributed at international fora such as the UN HRC and UN CSW. Another agreement was that there must be more emphasis on the implementation of National Action Plans of each of the countries.

Networking Institution Organisation Organisation Number of type focus/geographical focus associations under their umbrella

CAFCO, Permanent Framework of NGOs Network Gender Issues/ DRC 50 organisations Dialogue for Congolese Women including gender- (Cadre Permanent de Consultation des related NGOs Femmes Congolaises)

PRO-FEMMES is an organization that NGOs Network Gender issues, Rwanda 40 organisations works for an integral development including gender- (political, economic, social and cultural), related NGOs durable (reconciliation, peace) and equitable (justice) in Rwanda. It represents a platform and a

consultation structure for their associations and members.

CAFOB , Collectif des Associations et NGOs Network Gender Issues/FAS st Africa 63 organisations ONGs Féminines du Burundi is a non - including gender- profit, non-governmental organization related NGOs created in 1994 under the initiative of 7 women organizations and with the support of the Canadian Centre for International Studies and Cooperation

(CECI). It works with refugees and internally displaced people.

Republic of Finland Government

Ministry of Human Rights and Gender, Government Burundi Republic of Burundi

Ministry of Gender and Family Government Rwanda Promotion , Republic of Rwanda

Ministry of Gender, Family and Child, Government Congo (DRC) Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC)

Parliaments Rwanda, DRC and Burundi

Constraints, Opportunities and the Way Forward

Notwithstanding, a few shortcomings experienced due to change of the Ministry of Gender, Rwanda represents a learning opportunity for other African countries.

Indeed, the National Action Plan on the UNSCR 1325 is being implemented and the government institutions are firmly engaged in bringing women to the peace table.

In Burundi, the consultation process on UNSCR 1325 is already at an advanced stage also due to the strong engagement of civil society since the very beginning. The main challenge will now be bridging the gap between civil society and government institutions to work together on the National Action Plan.

II. ADVOCACY

Programmatic Area 1: Transforming policies into practice for gender parity and mainstreaming

REGIONAL: Gender Is My Agenda Campaign

Introduction

FAS’ activities at the regional level are focused on programmes to mainstream gender, particularly in the structures and mechanisms of the African Union (AU), United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA) and the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD).

Overall Objective

The overall objective of FAS’ programme for mainstreaming gender at the regional level is to mobilize and strengthen the capacity of women so that they can contribute to decision-making processes in peace and development; and to ensure gender equality in the design and implementation of African programmes.

Summary of Activities

Pre-Summits

FAS and the Gender is my Agenda Campaign hold bi-annual Pre Summits in order to review the progress made by the AU in gender mainstreaming with specific emphasis given to the implementation of the Solemn Declaration on Gender Equality in Africa (SDGEA).

The meetings serve as a means to monitor, evaluate and make recommendations to the African leaders.

In organizing the Pre-summits and producing recommendations, the GIMAC highlights the importance of civil society in holding the AU accountable to its commitments in gender mainstreaming and the promotion on women’s rights on the continent.

(i) 11 th Pre-Summit Consultative Meeting on “The Industrialization of the African continent: The Gender Perspective” Addis Ababa-January 2008

Delegates at the 11th Pre Summit

The main objective was to discuss the integration of the gender perspective within the main theme of the African Union summit “The industrialization of the African continent ” and to assess the level of implementation of the Solemn Declaration for Gender Equality and equity in Africa (SDGEA).

The meeting was attended by more than 60 NGO representatives. A committee was established to support the women candidates to the African Union Commission.

The GIMAC members were involved in the drafting of a “Solemn Statement and Recommendation” through which they called upon member states to: • Support the initiatives for gender mainstreaming and gender balance also within governance institutions; • Reinforce the Human Rights bodies existing on the African continent by providing them with adequate resources and political support; • Make sure that the principle of Gender balance in the composition of the African Court on Human and People’s Rights is strictly respected. • The statement was presented to the African Minister of Foreign Affairs.

(ii) 12th Pre-Summit Consultative Meeting on “Gender mainstreaming in the African Union” Sharm el-Sheikh- June 2008

Panellists at the 12 th Pre summit in Sharm el Sheikh, Egypt, 2008

The pre-summit was attended by 70 participants including African Ministers in charge of gender issues, legal experts and regional institutions representatives. The overall objective w a s to discuss the changing environment at the regional and international level and elaborate a new paradigm in the work of CSOs advocating for effective gender, parity policies and practice.

Specific objectives

• To review new strategies of advocacy of the Gender is My Agenda Campaign for effective gender parity policies and practice • To comment on State Reports on the implementation of the SDGEA on the various thematic issues • To present the Best Practices Booklet, a study commissioned by FAS on gender mainstreaming in Africa for critiquing • To raise awareness among women’s grassroots organizations at the national, sub-regional and regional level of the SDGEA, especially of new thematic such as women's right to land.

The campaign members convened to draft a document entitled “ Solemn Statement and Recommendations ”, in which they called upon Heads of State to organize a Second Heads of State and Government Gender Summit for July 2009.

The Statement in addition recommended them to: • Nominate women mediators to on-going peace negotiations and conflicts situations in Darfur, Somalia and Zimbabwe in line with the Gender parity principle. • Undertake all measures necessary to protect women and girls in Zimbabwe that were affected and displaced following the violence that engulfed the country after the March 2008 elections and facilitate humanitarian access to people in need of basic livelihood items. • Declare the African Women’s commitment to Darfur. This commitment should be composed of specific projects and capacity building to address the needs identified by the ISC and FAS.

Constraints, Opportunities and the Way Forward

The GIMAC has faced some challenges during this year and in order to find a solution, it was decided to hold a strategic orientation meeting in Sharm El Sheik in June to implement a SWOT analysis. The results of this analysis highlighted the constraints, opportunities and way forward.

Challenges

• Ensuring the sustainability of the campaign. • Designing appropriate strategies to consolidate gains ensure quality, performance sustainability and impact on gender parity and mainstreaming. • Ensuring the independence of the campaign to strengthen its ownership. • Need for resource mobilization

Opportunities

The Pre-summits have provided opportunities for: • Designing appropriate strategies to address consensual priorities, challenges and constraints confronting each thematic area of the campaign. • Promoting unity among the women’s movement to ensure unity of purpose. • Securing greater progress in women empowerment and security. • Raising awareness about the role and the power of media in popular mobilization. • Maximizing the alternatives available for the advancement to women. • The GIMAC campaign is sustained as an activity of the African women’s movement which determines and drives the African women agenda • Learn from experience for futures projects • Improve communication between members and network.

The way forward

It has also revealed some prospects about what to do in the future. • The GIMAC campaign is sustained as an activity of the African women’s movement which determines and drives the African women agenda • Learn from experience for futures projects • Improve communication between members and network.

INTERNATIONAL

Background

FAS’ international advocacy program uses five mechanisms to advocate for women’s rights at the international level. Identified, these mechanisms are the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women (UN CSW), the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC), the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) Committee, UN Security Council and UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC).

The networks that FAS works through, to promote its support at the UN CSW and UN HRC, are the working groups in Geneva and New York.

At each of these organizations, FAS' activities have focused on strengthening women’s influence on political processes and promote gender mainstreaming in peace and security programs at the national, regional and international level.

Moreover, FAS has partnered with the Office of the Special Advisor on Gender Issues (OSAGI) and United Nations Division for the Advancement of Women (DAW) in New York on various projects.

This participation takes the form of advocacy through reading out statements about the women's plight, organizing side events, having meetings with foreign government and non governmental leaders, representatives of the UN tasked to bring durable peace to the respective African conflict areas.

Furthermore, FAS is focused to strengthen the leadership capacities of African women at the grassroots level by carrying out trainings on the different significant instruments of the UN, such as CEDAW and UN SCR 1325. This will empower the women to effectively participate in conflict resolution, peace building and decision-making.

Summary of Activities

1. UN Human Rights Council

During 2008, FAS attended the different sessions of the Human Rights Council to monitor and advocate for the implementation of international mechanisms on women’s rights and mobilize support for African women’s peace initiatives.

At the HRC, the mechanism that the organization is working closely with to promote its activities is the Working Group on Peace of the NGO Committee on the Status of Women (Geneva).

FAS is currently co-chair of this Working Group on Peace with the Women's International League for Peace and Freedom (WILPF). FAS attended several meetings during 2008 in which common strategies for a better impact at the UN were discussed. In addition, FAS works together with the Gender Advisor in the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), the special rapporteurs and specific rapporteurs on African countries in Sudan, the Great-Lake and the Mano- River region.

a. 7th Session of the Human Rights Council 3- 28th March

The 7 th session of the Human Rights Council was a great opportunity to raise awareness on the Sudanese women in Darfur. FAS has been following the activities of the Human Rights Council related to Darfur since its inception and has engaged in significant advocacy efforts in Sudan.

FAS organized the panel entitled: “ The Road to Peace and Justice: Sudanese Women speak on Darfur ” on 12 th of March, 2008.

Sudanese Panel at the HRC

This year’s panel was a follow up activity to the African Women’s Consultation on Darfur, organised by FAS in Addis Ababa in Ethiopia of 24 th , 25th January 2008.

The outcome documents of the Consultation: the Sudanese Women’s Declaration on Darfur, Action Plan for Peace, and Conclusions and Recommendations were presented during this event.

The panel provided the opportunity to hear the experiences and challenges from the women that are directly affected by the conflict in Sudan, and following the panel discussion was a successful interaction between the public and the panellists .

FAS also trained the Sudanese women on regional and international instruments for gender equality. In collaboration with the mission of the United Kingdom in Geneva, FAS with some Ambassadors to the United Nations organized the meeting: “ Financing for Women, Peace and Security in Africa ”.

On the same day, Ms Yakin Erturk, the Special Rapporteur on violence against women, presented her annual report.

In her oral presentation, she highlighted the development of a set of indicators regarding violence against women. During the general debate on Item 4 many speakers addressed the deteriorating human rights situation of Sudan, particularly in Darfur. All of the nations urged the Sudan government to allow humanitarian aid workers into the country.

The Council continued its consideration of Item 4 with the presentation of the annual report of Ms Sima Samar, the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Sudan.

b. 8th Session of the Human Rights Council, 2-18 June

On the 5th of June, ‘Human Rights of Women’ was the agenda item during this session of the Human Right Council which was of great significance for FAS.

FAS advocated for women rights and supported a joint statement made by the World YWCA which was titled ‘It’s an Emergency, Stop the Violence and Protect Women and Girls Now’. The statement stated that the Human Rights Council should ensure the inclusion of women’s rights into the UPR process.

In addition, the statement requested that women’s rights be included in the national, regional and international bodies such as the AU and the EU and that this be adopted during the next G8 conference.

The HRC session also provided an opportunity for FAS to meet with its key partner countries, United Kingdom, Finland, Norway and the Netherlands.

c. 9th Session of the Human Rights Council, 8-26 September

With the aim of finding a way to integrate gender into all of the Council’s mechanisms, special procedures and work, FAS presented an oral intervention from a gendered perspective on the peace process in Darfur.

The oral intervention emphasized the deep concern for the situation of women’s rights in Darfur, Sudan. FAS called on the HRC council to reinforce the adoption of the UNSCR 1820 and the tangible implementation of the UNSCR 1325.

In addition, FAS reiterated that women must be fully engaged within peace processes, if there are to be recognizable achievements for women, for the nation, for the region and Africa as a whole.

On the situation of human rights in Darfur, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Burundi, FAS sought to bring more awareness to the Council about the human rights violations still occurring in the three countries.

Universal Periodic Review

This year saw the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) established as a new mechanism under General Assembly Resolution 60/251 which created the Human Rights Council.

The main purpose of the UPR in addition to the Human Rights Council is that all countries undertake a review, based on objective and reliable information, of the fulfilment by each State of its human rights obligations and commitments.

The review is a cooperative mechanism, based on an interactive dialogue, with the full involvement of the country concerned.

1st session of the Universal Periodic Review, 7-18 April During the first session of the UPR, 16 United Nations Member States were reviewed. FAS attended the reviews of the two African Member states: Tunisia and South Africa.

2nd session of the Universal Periodic Review, 5-19 May The countries reviewed during this session of interest to FAS were the African states: Gabon, Ghana, Benin and Mali.

3rd session of the Universal Periodic Review, 1-15 December During the 3 rd UPR session FAS attended the review of Burundi since it is part of FAS focus countries in the Great Lakes region.

In the country review document drafted during the session, it was highlighted that the right to equality of sexes is established in articles 7-14 of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women.

The provisions of these articles are applicable in Burundi, since the convention forms part of their constitution.

Moreover, it was stated that the percentage of women in positions of responsibility is 26.9 per cent in Ministries, still a low number.

There is need to improve the national gender policy; increasing the representation of women, increasing women’s involvement at all levels of decision-making and eradicating cultural prejudice against women.

This is part of FAS’ agenda in Burundi in terms of advocating for women’s rights over the past years.

2. UN Commission on the Status of Women, New York

The office of FAS in New York takes advantage of this event every year to highlight the challenges faced by women living in conflict zones. FAS collaborates with the African Women's Caucus and NGO Group on the Status of Women to raise awareness on these challenges.

At the fifty-second session of the CSW, which took place from 25 February to 3 March, FAS sponsored the participation of women representatives from Rwanda, Burundi and the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Three panels were held: (i) Women Empowerment in Africa: Women entrepreneurs in post conflict situations (ii) Women in 1325 -a ten year practice in engendering the peace process (iii) Sudanese Women voices on Darfur: Presentation of the Sudanese Women Declaration on Darfur”

The FAS panel discussions, also attended by representatives of Finland, helped to shed light on the importance of UN SCR 1325, and how it is implemented in the National Action Plans of African countries in the Mano-River Region.

Participants at the 1325 panel in New York

The discussions centred around the resolution's enforcement through the education of individuals, banning of violence against girls and women, creation of partnerships with other women’s NGOs, civil society organizations, foundations, governments, UN agencies, academics and private individuals to raise awareness on the status of girls and women in Africa.

At the end of the discussions, it was agreed that more shadow reports should be made and distributed at international fora such as the UN HRC and UN CSW. Another agreement was that there must be more emphasis on the implementation of National Action Plans of each of the countries.

3. UN Security Council

In 2000, the Security Council passed the UN SCR 1325 which seeks to recognise that women are not only victims of war, but also active agents in peace building.

This is one instrument that FAS uses to engender peace processes in Africa. A number of training workshops are held to sensitise women on the importance of this resolution and how they can use it to fight for participation in peace building processes in their countries.

Arria Formula : It allows for informal meetings to be held outside the official chambers of the UN Security Council. Since 2000 certain NGOs (such as FAS) and UN member states have been allowed to participate.

Last year, Ms Diop made an intervention asking that UN SCR 1325 is fully integrated into the work of the Security Council and of the UN in general. It was her hope that in implementing the recommendations contained in UN SCR, women affected by armed conflict everywhere would finally have a say in their country's peace building process, and that their involvement would, in turn, contribute to a more just and peaceful world.

She also asked that the Security Council also consider establishing a permanent and comprehensive monitoring mechanism. This would no doubt render more effective the Council’s contribution to the prevention and redress of violence against women in armed conflict.

Mrs Diop further urged the Security Council to establish focal points and an expert-level working group on women, peace and security, so that UN SCR 1325 could be systematically integrated into its work. She said it would greatly benefit women in conflict if the principles of UN SCR 1325 were included in all Security Council resolutions, its missions and the mission reports.

She also asked that the United Nations have a mechanism in place to ensure the inclusion of representatives of women and women’s groups engaged in peacemaking and peace building at all peace negotiations and processes.

NGO Working Group on Women, Peace and Security (New York)

FAS is a member of this Working Group which provides information on UN SCR 1325. This is an independent group composed of more than 100 NGOs. It works to promote advocacy on UN SCR 1325. It was formed in May 2000 to advocate for a UN Security Council Resolution on women, peace and security which was later adopted.

On 17 th June in New York , in advance of the Security Council Open Debate on 19 th June on the theme: “Women, Peace and Security: Sexual Violence in Situations of Armed Conflict”, the NGO Working Group on Women, Peace and Security made a statement to the Security Council to consider that sexual and gender-based violence in conflict-affected situations is relevant to the maintenance of international peace and security and should be sustained.

They urged that the Secretary-General systematically include comprehensive information on acts of sexual and gender-based violence against women and girls in all of his reports on conflict- affected situations and demanded an end to impunity for perpetrators of sexual and gender- based violence.

In the month of November, on the 13 th , the NGO working group on Women, Peace and Security in New York held a meeting with the objective of prioritization and evaluation of advocacy points.

4. CEDAW Committee

This treaty is described as an international bill for the rights of women. This is within the scope of FAS' objective which strives to build the capacity of women so that they can participate in decision making processes, including peace negotiations, within their countries.

FAS attended the 43 rd session of CEDAW on 19 January - 6 February held in Geneva. Since the CEDAW has moved since this year from the CSW in New York to the HRC in Geneva.

FAS interest was to hear on the review of Rwanda due to its ongoing project in the implementation of the National Action Plan on UNSCR 1325.

One of the outcomes of this meeting was that all three international instruments; UNSCR 1325, UNSCR 1820 and CEDAW are reinforcing each other and therefore should be used together in successfully leveraging women’s human rights.

5. UN ECOSOC

This agency assists the UN General Assembly to promote international, economic, social cooperation and development. Its functions include information gathering, advising member states and making recommendations. It is through these functions that FAS received a consultative status with ECOSOC and provides input on the violation of women's rights in conflict areas.

To this end, FAS participated in the Conference of Nongovernmental Organisations (CONGO) civil society conference of 27-29 June in New York and helped to prepare a civil society contribution to the ECOSOC high level panel.

The organisation shared its experience and had discussions on peace and security, with particular focus on UNSCR 1325.

6. Other mechanisms

• United Nations Peace-building Commission The establishment of the UN Peace-building Commission in 2005 is of great importance for FAS’ New York office in its gender mainstreaming work. This is particularly so with the Commission’s selection of Sierra Leone and Burundi as its two first cases.

These are two countries in which FAS has worked for many years.

The organisation has since its foundation attended the five meetings of the UN Peace-building Commission to link with its work in Sierra Leone and Burundi.

Constraints, Opportunities and the Way Forward

The major constraint of this advocacy programme at international fora is the lack of funds to bring African women to attend the sessions. The benefits may not be clearly visible to partners but when these women present their statements and have meetings with foreign governmental and international agency officials, their impact is felt in steps that the UN takes in order to help bring peace to their conflict countries as has been shown above.

Another constraint is the lack of follow up mechanisms on the implementation of UN SCR 1325. This means that women in African countries are not benefiting from what is envisaged in this resolution. As a way forward, FAS will continue to use the UN instruments to advocate for women’s rights in Africa.

There is also still a lack of a Gender architecture within the UN to follow up on all the resolutions on women, peace and security.

III. PANAFRICAN CENTRE FOR GENDER, PEACE AND DEVELOPMENT (PAC)

Background

To capitalize on the work it has done over the past several years in peace building, FAS created the Pan African Centre on Gender, Peace and Development (PAC), as one of the Centres for Excellence in Africa providing advanced training and research in peace building and development issues with an emphasis on gender.

The Centre, based at its regional office in Dakar, Senegal, enables the promotion of greater gender equality between men and women in peace building, governance and development efforts.

The training programmes at the Centre are primarily centred on conflict prevention, the establishment of early-warning mechanisms, the management and resolution of conflicts, mediation techniques, the management of post-conflict phases and the implementation of reconstruction programmes. The Centre functions as an interface between different institutions and serves as a source for information for the development of UN programmes.

The Centre’s programmes have been endorsed by the institutional partnerships of FAS - University of Peace (UPEACE) of Costa Rica, and the Instituto de Empresa of Spain - in order to encourage the collective production of knowledge as well as the exchange of expertise, resources or methodologies.

It has already received the technical assistance of the UN Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR) in Geneva.

Summary of Activities

1) Gender and Peace building Short Course Training

During the year, PAC worked on the preparation for the implementation of the 3 rd Short Course on Gender, Media and Conflict which will take place in 2009 in Mbodiène (Senegal).

It is the third in a series of training sessions organised in collaboration with the Africa Programme of UPEACE.

The main focus of the course is the role of Media in conflict prevention and conflict transformation, Media coverage of women in conflict and feminist media.

2) Training and Mentoring of Women led Businesses in Liberia, South Africa, Democratic Republic of Congo, Rwanda, Mozambique and Senegal”

This project was developed by FAS together with the Center for Diversity in Global Management at the Instituto de Empresa (IE) and submitted to the Government of Spain to target and work with 24 women who have established business enterprises with strong growth potential.

a) Project Goal The goal is to assist in the transformation and expansion of their businesses into consolidated mid- sized enterprises, generating employment and economic benefits.

b) Activities

(i) Facilitation Workshop FAS and the IE organized a two day facilitation workshop on 11 th – 12 th January for the implementation of the "Training and Mentoring program for the women-led businesses project in Liberia, South Africa, Democratic Republic of Congo, Mozambique, Senegal and Rwanda".

The main objective of the workshop was to train facilitators on the project selection criteria. Held in Dakar, Senegal, the meeting was attended by 11 participants and facilitated by Dr. Celia de Anca, Director IE and Dr. Pablo Martin, Chairman of the Entrepreneurial Management Department or IE.

The specific objectives of the workshop were to: • facilitate the development of feasibility studies on women-led business • obtain skills on how to identify and evaluate new venture opportunities • gain an understanding of the challenges faced by women entrepreneurs when starting a venture • obtain tools and skills required for embarking on a new project • understand the nature and purpose of a business.

The evaluation of the workshop made by the participants was positive. They rated the programme highly and stated they learned a lot about business management and economics.

(ii) Advocacy panel during the 52nd Session of the UN Commission on the Status of Women (CSW), New York, 25th February 2008 In order to share information about the project and enhance dialogue among stakeholders, FAS organized a panel called “Women Empowerment in Africa: Women Entrepreneurs in Post- Conflict Situations”. It was on the 25 th of March, 2008, during the 52nd Session of the UN CSW. The panel provided a good opportunity for FAS to publicize its training project. FAS also saw the panel as a way to bring together Gender Ministries and NGOs around the issue of capacity building for women entrepreneurs. Two great achievements of the panel were Senegal and South Africa’s sharing of best practices and lessons learned for implementing this kind of project in Africa.

(iii) Madrid Workshop From 14 th – 18 th July , FAS and Center for Diversity in Global Management, Instituto de Empresa carried out the second workshop for the implementation of the " Training and Mentoring Programme for Women-led Businesses project in Liberia, South Africa, Democratic Republic of Congo, Mozambique, Senegal and Rwanda ".

The workshop was held in Madrid –Spain for 23 African women to build their capacity in their respective business areas. The training focused on developing professional and effective business plans and establishing relationships between mentors and participants.

The specific results of the training were: • Deeper understanding of how to formulate a business plan • Better understanding of how a business plan can help to attract financing • Acquisition of skills and tools for implementing sustainable business growth • Deeper understanding of the benefits of effective business management; and • Continued instruction of the E-learning process.

(iv) Tutoring Following the Madrid Workshop, IE Business School also facilitated individual support to the participants of the “Training and Mentoring Programme for Women Led Business”, face to face and on line training, via a selected group of tutors. The assigned tutors were graduating students from the International Masters in business administration programme that had showed excellence in academic performance during the year and had offered to transfer their experience through assisting individual participants in the process of developing their Business Plan.

Due to the technical environment (lack of equipment, internet connection, etc), the tutors visited the countries and made face to face tutoring. This was appreciated by the participants who benefited from individual assistance in the elaboration of their business plans.

3) Leadership programme

From September 2007 till October 2008, FAS partnered with Search For Common Ground (SFCG) and the Academy for Educational Development in a research project geared towards the development of the Women of Africa Leadership Development Programme.

The group recognized that the vision of providing leadership and conflict management development programmes needed a strong foundation built on solid research. They came together to work on this project in order to bring their complementary orientations, experiences and wisdom in the creation of this programme.

The research conducted in Kenya, Liberia and Côte d’Ivoire, entitled “Women of Africa Leadership Development Program” was comprised of three main research elements: 1) desktop research, 2) qualitative interviews, and 3) consultative workshops.

The programme resulted in: • Identification of current regional barriers to and opportunities for inclusion • advancement and continuance of women’s participation in democratic decision-making; • collection of data on current positions held by women, their scope of influence, • relationship to decision-making communities, and range of democratic activities; and • seek out regional leadership wisdom, models and customs.

4) African Gender Forum and Award

a) Background

The African Gender Forum and Award (AGA) has been instituted by Femmes Africa Solidarité, its Pan-African Centre for Gender, Peace and Development, and partners in the year 2005, in order to recognise initiatives and advancement of gender mainstreaming made by African Heads of States, who adopted the Solemn Declaration on Gender Equality in Africa (SDGEA). Extraordinary achievement in themes guided by the SDGEA and the “Gender is My Agenda” campaign guidelines in Africa are especially considered.

In 2008 the main activities on this programme was to finalize the reporting of the 2 nd AGFA that took place in Dakar in December 2007.

Also the 5th Selection Committee took place on June 20 th on the margins of the 12 th Pre-Summit Consultative Meeting on Gender Mainstreaming in Sharm el Sheikh, Egypt. Few members met to evaluate the process of selecting the candidates for the award in order to strengthen the selection criteria. It was also an opportunity to strategize on how best to ensure visibility and support for the Africa Gender Award and to come up with activities that will lead up to the main event.

b) Constraints, Opportunities and the Way Forward

2008 saw significant activities of the Pan African Centre happening and allowed to strengthen its potential in capacity building, partnership and advocacy. One of the major constraints of the PAC was the lack of human resource in the coordination of its ongoing programmes. As an immediate measure, FAS hired external consultants assisted by 2 interns based in Dakar.

The project of appointing a Deputy Director and project managers to support its regional activities will in the short term redress this situation.

IV. INSTITUTIONAL BUILDING

1. Partnership and Fundraising

Introduction

FAS continually strives to build partnerships and links with all stakeholders, including grassroots organizations, policy makers and implementers within governments, regional bodies, United Nations agencies and the private sector (see the list of partners of the African Gender Forum and Award, part 5). By doing so, FAS develops or reinforces initiatives related to gender, development, peace-building, post- conflict reconstruction and building of democratic institutions. The Partnership and Fundraising officer is responsible for the relationship in this department.

With all these partners FAS has been able to work around a common agenda to maximize resources, new opportunities for future programmes and avoid duplication in the implementation of programmes, as well as to facilitate the sharing of best practices. The Partnership and Fundraising function in the Geneva office conducts research and locates possible partners in support of activities carried out by the Dakar and New York Office.

In the year 2008, FAS supported various representatives from the field to attend international conferences and events related to gender, peace and security, allowing experience-sharing and visibility of grassroot initiatives.

The partners with which FAS worked with during the year include, the AU, Action Aid, AWDF, DFID, ECA, Governments of Finland, Norway, Senegal, Spain, Roll Back Malaria, UNDP, UPEACE, UNDEF, UNFPA, OSIWA, International Organization for Migration (IOM) and a private donor.

Summary of Activities

1. Partnerships

a. United Nations Bodies (UNDEF, UNDP, UPEACE, UNECA, UNFPA)

(i) FAS and UNECA signed a MoU in which they agreed to collaborate on UN ECA hosting the GIMAC Consultative Meetings on Gender Mainstreaming in the African Union Pre Summits.

Based on this, UNECA hosted the 1st African Women's Consultation on Darfur that took place from 24-25 January in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. The Consultation was held as part of the 11 th Pre- Summit Consultative Meetings on Gender Mainstreaming in the African Union Summit of 22-23 January 2008.

It resulted in the Sudanese Women’s Declaration on Darfur, Darfur Plan of Action for Peace and the establishment of a Sudanese Women’s Forum on Darfur.

(ii) On 3rd March , FAS and the Office of the Special Advisor to the Secretary-General on Gender Issues and Advancement of Women (OSAGI) had the pleasure to attend a meeting organized by the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) in New York . The objective of the meeting was to discuss women's equal participation in conflict prevention, management and conflict resolution and in post-conflict peace building. The meeting also discussed United Nations Security Council Resolution 1325 on women, peace and security. Ms Diop represented FAS.

(iii) On 18 th December , FAS and UPEACE signed a MoU to conduct short courses on peace building and gender. Later, the two organisations then invited Cheikh Anta Diop University (UCAD) of Dakar, Senegal for the establishment of a Master’s Degree in Gender and Peace building.

On April 23rd FAS met with a representative from UPEACE to discuss among other things, the planned Master in Gender and ways in which they could increase their partnership.

(iv) From July 7-10, FAS, UNDEF and UNDP signed a cooperation agreement to build the capacity of DRC Parliamentarians on gender issues. As a result of the agreement, a training workshop on Gender, Human Rights and Governance in Dakar, Senegal. The aim of the training was strengthening the capacity of the DRC policy makers in terms of budget analysis, respect for women’s rights, and effective participation in political governance and democratic institutions.

b. AWDF

AWDF is the first Africa-wide grant-making organization set up to provide grants to African women's organizations across the continent. The organisation has partnered with FAS on various activities. (i) On June 2 nd , the AWDF and FAS signed a grant agreement from June 2008 to September 2008 to contribute to the Gender is My Agenda Campaign Strategic Meeting before the 12 th AU pre-summit. (ii) AWDF and FAS signed another grant agreement on July 1 st to collaborate on the training of 30 women and men media practitioners on peace building issues from June 2008 to May 2009.

c. Government of Finland

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs Finland has been supporting the development and implementation of ‘National Action Plans on the Implementation of the United Nations Security Council Resolution 1325’ in Burundi, Democratic Republic of Congo and Rwanda for a three year term, 2007-2009.

As part of FAS’ regional programme in the Great Lakes region, the project started at the beginning of 2007 for a period of three years with the aim of realizing women’s full legal and human rights in peace and security. FAS’ project was one of 6 selected for funding out of a total of 26 applications.

FAS organized a workshop on Gender, Human Rights and Governance, supported by UNDEF, and UNDP from 7-10 July for DRC Parliamentarians and Members of CSOs. There were twenty participants and the aim of the training was strengthening the capacity of the DRC policy makers in terms of budget analysis, respect for women rights, and effective participation in political governance and democratic institutions.

Ms Diop (second from the right) speaking at the opening ceremony

Following the Dakar workshop, the Government of Finland supported a FAS Consultant to participate in a training for DRC parliamentarians in Kinshasa, DRC .

d. Government of Spain

The Government of Spain and FAS signed a cooperation agreement for the Women Led Business Project. Some of the activities that took place were:

i) 16-18 June: First Training of the “Training and Mentoring Programme for Women-Led Businesses Project in Senegal, Mozambique, Rwanda, DRC, Liberia and South Africa”, was held in Dakar, Senegal. The workshop follows preliminary meetings and workshops organized by FAS and Instituto de Empresa (IE) in July 2007 and January 2008, which aimed at building a mutual understanding between the two institutions, and to discuss the modalities in the implementatio n of the project.

Official opening of the Women-Led Business training in Dakar, Senegal

27 women from Liberia, South Africa, DRC, Mozambique, Senegal and Rwanda attended the workshop, supported by the Spanish government and organized by the FAS Pan-African Centre for Gender, Peace and Development, aimed at mentoring them to develop their businesses.

ii) 14-18 July: Second Workshop for the Implementation of the “Training and Mentoring Programme for Women-Led Businesses Project in Senegal, Mozambique, Rwanda, DRC, Liberia and South Africa”, was held in Madrid, Spain. It was organized by FAS, IE and Centre for Diversity in Global Management. The women continued their training in Madrid, mentored by the MBA students from the IE Business School. Afterwards the students visited the women in their respective countries for 2 to 4 weeks in order to assist them in their business and help them develop a business plan.

FAS also met with the Government of Spain at the European Development Days which were from 15-17 November and made a presentation on its current activities with regards to the above project. Request on follow-up of funding was also made.

e. Government of Norway

FAS and the Norwegian government signed an agreement in which Norway would partly finance FAS’ project ‘Engendering the Peace Process in Darfur, Sudan’ , second phase (July 2008 – 2010).

f. DFID

DFID financed the first phase of FAS’ project ‘ Engendering the Peace Process in Darfur, Sudan ’ from January to July 2008. The second phase which is from July 2008 to 2010 is also partly financed by DFID.

The 1st African Women's Consultation on Darfur was financed by DFID and organized by FAS in partnership with the African Union (AU), United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA), Open Society Initiative for West Africa (OSIWA) and Gender is my Agenda Campaign Network took place in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia from 24th - 25th January . The Consultation was held as part of the 11 th Pre-Summit Consultative Meetings on Gender Mainstreaming in the African Union Summit of 22-23 January 2008 and resulted in the Sudanese Women’s Declaration on Darfur, Darfur Plan of Action for Peace and the establishment of a Sudanese Women’s Forum on Darfur.

g. Roll Back Malaria

In September Roll Back Malaria and FAS signed an agreement to develop a one year programme on “Gender, conflict and malaria in 6 countries (Burundi, DRC, Liberia, Mali, Rwanda, and Sierra Leon) ” that includes a database of African women experts, high-level advocacy missions, and an Expert Panel.

This was developed to follow the 1 st one-year partnership between FAS and Roll Back Malaria in 2006 for the project: “ Raising women’s voices on Malaria ” where FAS already took a first step to reach the overall goal to ensure that all the actors working on this problem at global, regional and national level recognize malaria as a gender issue and include it in their agendas. The Global Gender and Malaria Network were established and the "Guide to Gender and Malaria Resources" developed.

The 2008 one-year partnership project has been developed. So far FAS capitalizes on the achievements accomplished in strengthening The Global Gender and Malaria Network, especially aiming to reinforce the focus on the African context and in particular in post conflict zones whereas FAS has experienced.

The project aspires to a stronger voice in advocating African women's right for a healthy life as well as women’s right to an increased access to information, decision-making power and financial resources for effective disease prevention and treatment. It will raise awareness on Gender, Conflict and Malaria, building a competent critical mass of supporters to ensure general ownership and future sustainability of gender analysis in malaria control programs in complex emergencies. Finally, it goes to sensitize decision makers in order to mainstream gender into malaria policies and create an enabling environment to respond appropriately to community concerns, especially in conflict and post-conflict situation.

h. International Organization for Migration (IOM)

On 22 April, the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) and FAS signed an MOU for the Second African Gender Forum on Women and Migration, in Geneva.

In April & July FAS participated in two workshops organised by the IOM.

The first workshop was on ‘Managing Return Migration’ and the second workshop complementing the first one was on ‘Enhancing the Role of Return Migration in Fostering Development’ which was held in the framework of International Dialogue for Migration (IDM).

These workshops brought together policymakers, practitioners, and representatives of civil society and international organizations to exchange views and experiences on return migration and discuss their diverse perspectives and approaches to dealing with the issue.

Both events emphasized the importance of cooperative approaches in addressing return, in particular the need for strengthened partnerships between and among countries of origin, transit and destination including at the regional and interregional levels, as well as the need to fully involve relevant non-governmental actors. Another key message resulting from the two workshops is the need to approach return as part of comprehensive migration management rather than in isolation.

Building on the outcomes of the above-mentioned workshops and on IOM’s research and programmatic experience, the outcomes will provide the opportunity to IOM Council to discuss return migration management in depth and to identify effective means for and successful approaches to managing return in a safe, dignified and sustainable manner, in December 2008. i. Open Society Initiative for West Africa (OSIWA)

a) From 4-7 February FAS participated in an Open Society African Forum in Dakar, Senegal.

The objective of the forum was to gather OSI partners and affiliates for the discussion of emerging opportunities, threats, and challenges to the establishment of open societies in Africa. Later in the year, from 4-5 September , FAS also participated in a Stakeholders Conference on Migration in Dakar, Senegal.

b) The 12 th Pre-Summit Consultative Meeting on Gender Mainstreaming in the African Union took place from 21-22 June . It was organized by FAS, Women Gender & Development Directorate (WGDD) and the UNECA African Centre for Gender and Social Development.

FAS was supported by AWDF, OSIWA, Action Aid, DFID, Government of Finland, African Development Bank, and Suzanne Mubarak Women’s International Peace Movement. DFID contributed a significant amount of money. The meeting was locally coordinated by the Egyptian Business Women Association and the National Council for Women of Egypt.

It was held on the margins of the 11 th Summit Meeting of Heads of State and Governments of the African Union (AU) in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt.

j. Private Donor (Switzerland)

A private donor in partnership with FAS offers the “Wanjiru Kihoro Fellowship” from August 2008 – May 2009 where the selected candidate has the opportunity to work for a period of 9 months for FAS’ International Secretariat in Geneva, before returning to their country of origin and put their skills in practice through an additional 3 month placement with a local NGO, made possible with the support of the Foundation.

2. Fundraising

a. Government of Italy

Ms Diop was invited to Italy for follow up on discussions based on the Africa Gender Forum and Award.

On 17 April , FAS and Italy signed an agreement for the funding of the 3rd Short Course on Gender, Media and Conflict of the Pan African Centre on Gender, Peace and Development. They also agreed on a Joint Assessment Mission in Sierra Leone and Mali with a possibility of a two-year programme. Possibility of funding for a programme on the Mano River Region was also discussed if FAS could submit a proposal on the Region .

b Government of France

7-8 March: FAS participated in a fundraising mission to France on the theme Conference-Debate on “Diplomacy and Women’s Rights”. The main objective of the meeting was to network and present the Strategic Plan for 2008-2013. The project on Sudan was also shared and seen as an opportunity to draw the attention of the French government for possible support.

c. European Development Days (EDD)

FAS attended the three-day (15-17 November ) European Development Days Meeting in Strasbourg, France. It was an opportunity for FAS to meet with its current partners and also share projects with potential partners.

FAS also participated in the workshops that were linked to its programme areas for instance on food crises, human rights and development, financial crises, democracy in development, media and development and Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). The workshops were presented by eminent leaders. There were four Heads of State from Africa, the president of the AU Commission and also the Goldman Prize Recipient Wangari Maathai.

FAS was able to meet donors from Spain, GTZ, Italy, Portugal and France . The challenge during these meetings was the fact that it was difficult to meet with people from the development cooperation whom FAS directly works with. Except for Spain and Portugal, FAS met with the communications officers who were not very familiar with FAS’ programmes. It was also a good opportunity for FAS to meet with the Government of Portugal to report on past partnership for the African Gender Forum 2007 and to present the new Action Plan for the period 2008-2012.

FAS met CONCORD who linked it to the Tanzanian Gender Programme . It was also possible to meet Women of Ugandan Network who work with the same networks as FAS. FAS also had the chance to meet with Deutsche-Welle where the Sudan project and the upcoming second forum were discussed. Deutsche-Welle expressed interest in attending the forum and in being connected to FAS activities in particular the one in Darfur.

d. European Commission

FAS submitted concept papers on September 16 and September 30 respectively for a call for proposals from the European Commission.

The first objective was “Enhancing respect for Human Rights and fundamental freedoms in countries and regions where they are most at risk” and the second objective was “Strengthening the role of civil society in promoting human rights and democratic reform, in supporting the peaceful conciliation of groups of interests and in consolidating political participation and representation”.

FAS’ concept paper for the first objective was on “Advocacy of women in East Congo on their fundamental rights” and for the second objective “A Pan-African civil society campaign on the implementation of the Solemn Declaration on Gender Equality in Africa (SDGEA)” .

The outcome as to whether the proposals will be funded will be known in the coming year.

e. Donor Roundtables

(i) The first donor roundtable was organized by Office of the Special Advisor on Gender Issues and Advancement of Women on 27 February , United Nations Plaza, New York. The theme was ‘Walk Our Talk’ for women and peace in Africa.

(ii) The second donor roundtable was a lunch organised by Ambassador and Permanent Representative of the United Kingdom to the United Nations, Geneva, on 13 March with the theme ‘Financing for Women, Peace and Security in Africa’.

The general objective of the roundtables was to raise funds for FAS’ Strategic Plan of Action 2008- 2012. Both events were also attended by Ambassadors or Mission representatives.

Constraints, Opportunities and the Way Forward

Ongoing constraints are the lack of long-term commitments to provide the resources for programmes. In this regard, FAS welcomed the three year project, which is being supported by the Government of Finland, and the two year project, funded by DFID and the Government of Norway.

As a way forward, FAS is planning to submit various project proposals on the implementation of its projects. A project proposal ‘National Action Plan on the Implementation of UNSCR 1325 in Liberia, Guinea and Sierra Leone’ is underway to be submitted to various donors for possible funding. The project is from 2009-2011.

2. Networking and Outreach

Background

The third objective of FAS' Institutional Building, as laid out in the project proposal, is to develop strong networking relations with civil society organizations.

FAS devoted itself in many networking efforts to cooperate with organizations which are also committed to women’s empowerment. In this process, FAS has created a number of networks in Africa: The Mano River network (Sierra Leone, Liberia and Guinea); Great Lakes Region (Democratic Republic of Congo, Burundi, and Rwanda) and SWOFOD (Sudan ).

At the regional level, FAS coordinates the Gender is my Agenda Campaign Network which brings together various organizations working on gender and co-related issues in Africa.

At international level FAS is part of the Working Groups on Peace & Security in Geneva and in New York.

As illustrated by the African Union Women’s Committee (AUWC) experience with mainstreaming gender in the AU, the collaboration of women and other organizations on a continual basis is essential.

The Networking officer in Geneva works closely with these networks on various activities to be undertaken together regarding a common ground basis. These activities are realised with a view to support the programme activities in Dakar and New York.

Summary of Activities

a) Open Society Africa Forum

The Open Society Africa Forum is a gathering of Open Society Initiatives (OSI) partners and affiliates for the discussion of emerging opportunities, threats, and challenges to the establishments of open societies in Africa.

The centre of significance of the OSI intervention in Africa is around the work of four foundations covering the territories of West (Dakar), East (Nairobi), and South Africa (Johannesburg) and (Cape Town). In addition, the Africa Governing Monitoring and Advocacy Project (AfriMAP) has been established to work with national civil society organizations to conduct systematic audits of government performance, and advocate for improvements as necessary.

4-7 February, Dakar: FAS attended the Open Society Africa Forum which took place in Dakar, Senegal. It analysed the key challenges to progress in implementing policies of good governance in Africa. Moreover, the forum presented the opportunity to pull together as civil society to reinforce the existing efforts and make a distinctive contribution to the African continent in the following years.

During this Forum, FAS chaired one of the Panels entitled: “Senegal: Emerging Trends toward Open Societies.”

b) Conference of Non Governmental Organizations (CONGO)

The Conference of Non-Governmental Organizations (CONGO) in Consultative Status with the United Nations is an independent, international, non-profit membership association of NGOs that facilitates the participation of NGOs in United Nations debates and decisions.

FAS is currently the Vice-President of CONGO and is a member of one of its substantive Committees: Committee on the Status of Women (CSW).

Board Meeting: On 28 February – March 1, FAS attended the CONGO board meeting in New York. The Board oversees the work of CONGO between sessions of the CONGO General Assembly. During this meeting, CONGO President Mr. Liberato Bautista recalled the reformulation of the functioning of CONGO Offices into an International Secretariat with three centres, New York, Geneva and Vienna.

Civil Society Development Forum: This was held from 27-29 June in New York and was organized by CONGO and its UN partners, in which more than 500 people from intergovernmental, governmental and non-governmental circles participated. The forum was organised as a response of Civil Society to the Annual Ministerial Review theme: “Implementing the internationally agreed goals and commitments in regard to sustainable development”. The objective of this meeting was to look at old issues and implement new approaches.

Forum: A forum was held in Geneva from 27-28 October, as a follow-up to the Civil Society Development Forum (CSDF).

CONGO and its UN partners organised a forum at the ILO building in Geneva. The main subjects were: -Food crisis, sustainability & sovereignty -Development and the HR nexus (including political will, trade speculation).

The Forum produced a follow-up document that sharpened and prioritized issues of the New York outcome document. Moreover, on the first day of the forum the “double sixtieth anniversary” of CONGO and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights was celebrated.

c) Africa Partnership Forum (APF)

The tenth Forum was held in Tokyo,, Japan from 7 th – 8 th April. The theme was: “Making a Vibrant Africa Reality through TICAD IV and the G8 Hokkaido Toyako Summit.”

The Forum received significant support from the Japanese government. The objective of this Forum was to monitor the African development process with a view to make Africa a peaceful, progressive and democratic continent that can guarantee human security for its inhabitants and contribute substantially to global development.

The civil society members urged the African leaders to take the African continent in the “right direction” away from the pains and challenges that characterised the continent’s past. At the same time, the group asked the international partners to used this opportunity to “listen more, understand and know how best to support the Africans as they take charge of their destiny”.

The members of the civil society recognised all the positive developments that have occurred on the continent such as the unprecedented proliferation of democracy in most African countries, the setting up of Regional and Economic Communities to promote trade as well as the work of the African Union to resolve conflicts and disputes on the continent.

FAS was invited to participate in this conference because of its expert knowledge on gender, peace and security issues with regard to African conflicts.

Ms. Diop chaired the African Civil Society APF Technical Committee and stressed the importance of addressing the plight of African women as they remain the key to ensuring economic growth, reducing poverty, peace and security and good governance. She stated during the meeting “We will now work to ensure that the issue of gender stays on the agenda”.

FAS need to make a greater participation of women possible in the political, economic and social spheres in a manner that removes the burden that they carry and empowers them to unlock their potential for political, economic and social leadership. d) International Committee of the Red Cross

FAS has reinforced its collaboration with the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC). The Executive Director of FAS is a member of the Group of International Advisors of the ICRC. In this capacity, she attends meetings of the ICRC, including the Meeting of ICRC International Group of Advisers.

These meetings enable FAS to share its experiences of African Women’s initiatives for peace at the international level and keep abreast of peace and security humanitarian trends.

Its membership of the Group of International Advisors has also facilitated its involvement in other humanitarian networks, including the CAUX Foundation and the Maurice de Madre French Fund. The ICRC is a strong networking partner, and is playing a role in the project of FAS’ Pan African Centre for Gender, Peace and Development as it has, among others, offered books for the library of the Centre and provided lessons on humanitarian law. e) CAUX Foundation

FAS participated at the Official Day of CAUX in July, and met with the representatives of Maurice de Madre French Fund on 13 th May, in order to have an overview of the projects planned for the year. f) Centre for Humanitarian Dialogue

The Centre for Humanitarian Dialogue (HD Centre) is an independent Swiss Foundation dedicated to helping improve the global response to armed conflict. The centre is driven by humanitarian values and three primary goals: to reduce the humanitarian consequences of conflict, increase security, and ultimately contribute to the peaceful resolution of conflict.

Since April this year the collaboration between FAS and the Centre for Humanitarian Dialogue was established and FAS became a board member. FAS attended the board meeting on 4-5 March in Geneva which focused on Civilian Protection in Africa.

g) Association Tunisienne Des Mères (ATM)

General Conference: FAS attended the third general conference organised by the Association of Tunisian Mothers: “Identity, Modernity and Solidarity” from 21-23 April in Tunisia. More than 1,200 participants took part in the conference. Mrs. Sarra Kanoun Jarray, Minister of Women, Children and the Elderly Affairs, delivered an opening statement on behalf of Mrs. Leila Ben Ali, the First Lady of Tunisia.

Ms. Diop expressed her solidarity to this important women’s organisation and delivered a speech. The speech reiterated on the important role that women and mothers have in Tunisia and Africa. She said that since they were at the centre of development, they needed to be involved in all stages of decision-making. The ATM is part of the Gender is My Agenda Campaign. h) Arab International Women’s Forum

The Arab International Women’s Forum (AIWF) was set up in 2001. The AIWF aims to connect Arab and International women in key positions in business and professions and in community leadership, public and political life.

It was the main partner of the first edition of the African Gender forum and Award in May 2005. Since then, FAS and AIWF keep working in collaboration for the follow-up of the Forum.

Reception at Number 10 Downing Street, 13 February 2008: FAS attended the reception organised by the Arab International Women’s Forum (AIWF) in London.

In a parallel meeting, Ms. Diop met with representatives of DFID and Her Excellency Mrs. Sarah Brown and reported during on what FAS and her partners achieved during the Sudanese Women’s Consultation on Darfur in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia in January 2008.

Additionally, FAS shared on the willingness of Sudanese women to stand together for peace in Darfur. i) Global Forum on Migration & Development

FAS attended the 2 nd meeting of the Civil Society Days of Global Forum on Migration & Development (GFMD) held in Manila, Philippines from 27-30 October.

The GFMD starts with two days of Civil Society consultations, where 220 delegates from all over the world, representing concerns for some 200 million migrants met to consider the rights and protections of migrants, the expansion of legal avenues for migration and the challenge of coherence within nations and across borders.

In the outcome Declaration, at this time whereas the world’s governments struggle for responses to the global financial crisis, the participants called for the Governments to have an obligation to create a framework of laws, policies and institutions that allows the positive potential to be realized.

In addition, it was an opportunity to network with Africans from the Diaspora, with other migrant organizations and policymakers.

This second edition of the GFMD saw the launch of the EU-UN Joint Migration and Development Initiative and the call for proposals will be opened in early 2009 .

j) African Women’s Development Fund

From November 11-12 in Cape Town, FAS attended a workshop on Women’s Political Participation and Transformational Leadership. The workshop was organised for regional, sub- regional and national women’s rights organizations engaged in women’s political participation activities. The workshop contributed to knowledge on how to improve the resources, political experience, education and political connections to run for office for African women. k) Darfur Relief and Documentation Centre (DRDC)

DRDC is an independent, apolitical and non-profit NGO based in Geneva, Switzerland. DRDC was established with the view to injecting an independent and impartial civil society perspective for a peaceful resolution of armed conflicts in Darfur. Since FAS has been committed to engendering the peace process in Darfur it has worked closely with DRDC.

FAS attended the workshop : “Promoting a Culture of Peace in Darfur: Civil Society Voice” which was prepared by DRDC in support of the regional and international efforts to reenergize the peace process in Darfur.

The overall objective of this workshop, held from 28-30 July in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, was to help the ongoing efforts to regain peace and stability in Darfur through a negotiated political settlement. l) Africa Women’s Forum

FAS attended the High-level Meeting of the General Assembly at the UN on 22 nd September in New York which was titled: “Accelerating Implementation of Commitments to Gender equality & Women’s Human Rights”.

The objectives of this Forum were: to identify the achievements in the implementation of international, regional and national commitments to gender equality and women’s human rights, to recognize the challenges faced by Member States in implementing these commitments and to make concrete recommendations to accelerate progress for the achievement of gender equality and women’s human rights. m) Swiss Peace Foundation

FAS attended the Annual conference of the Swiss Peace Foundation in Bern entitled: “The Politics of Peace: From Ideology to Pragmatism?”

The conference held from 10-11 November focused on the political and ideational context in which peace building strategies are developed by states and international organisations.

The key issues of this conference were: the functions of states in peace building –the role of civil society – future perspective, the core issues of peace building in 15 years – the contribution of research.

Significant for FAS was that Dr. Günther Baechler, Senior Adviser for Peace building in Sudan, of the Swiss Federal Department of Foreign Affairs attended the meeting. It was a good opportunity for FAS to share their experience on their advocacy work in Sudan.

n) African Development Forum

The African Development Forum is jointly organised by United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA), the African Union (AU) and the African Development Bank (ADB). To reflect the strategic partnership fostered among the three institutions to deliver as one towards meeting Africa’s development priorities, including gender equality.

The 6 th African Development Forum was held in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia from 19-21 November. The theme of this conference was: “Action on gender equality, empowerment and ending violence against women in Africa”.

FAS attended this important Forum. Recent studies have highlighted new challenges in Africa that could deepen and widen existing gender inequalities. Therefore it is essential to improve gender equality and women’s empowerment as a means of ensuring equitable and sustainable social and economic development in Africa.

The overall objective of this Forum was to review progress made towards gender equality and women’s empowerment and to articulate concrete actions that could be taken to accelerate the process. o) International Women’s Network for Solidarity

FAS attended the conference of the International Women’s Network for Solidarity of 28 – 31 May in Trento, Italy. The main purpose of this meeting was to communicate and express solidarity between the different women activists of the world and to promote the work of the International Women’s Network for Solidarity for the coming year of 2008/2009.

The outcome of this conference was that they acknowledged the need to create a Solidarity Fund that will support and respond to the necessities of the associations of the network.

Moreover, the participation of the network was expressed in two international campaigns in 2008/: -the 16 days of activism against violence against women of 28 November – 10 December. p) Salon Africain du Livre

The fifth “Salon Africain du Livre, de la presse et de la culture” was organised in Geneva from 30th April to 4 th of May.

The theme of this event was centred on the question: ‘Africa, how are you?’ The aim was to dispel people’s preconceived ideas about Africa through debates and discussions which addressed literature and politics.

FAS had a Stand on which publications and other literature which was shared with people who attended the event. FAS also showed a theatre-film on the opening day of the book fair called: “Afrique terre des femmes ” which discussed the ‘Gender is my Agenda Campaign’ and addressed the importance of promoting women’s rights. This film was produced by FAS with the support of Open Society Initiative for West Africa (OSIWA). The film was followed by a discussion chaired by Ms. Diop and the Board Chair of OSIWA, Mr. Elhadj Amadou Sy. FAS also used the occasion of the book fair to network with other organisations.

q) Justice Africa

Justice Africa (JA) is a research institute and advocacy organization founded in 1999 in London to campaign for human rights and social justice across Africa, and Sudan has been a principle focus of its programme work leading to the opening of an office in Khartoum in 2007.

FAS and JA signed a Memorandum of Understanding in Geneva on 23 April and in Khartoum on 21st April.

The objective of this agreement is to establish cooperation between FAS and JA to assist in the organization and development of an Assessment Mission to Darfur , which includes visits to Khartoum, Nyala, El Geneina, Klaimendo and El Fasher. JA will be the coordinator in the field and will facilitate all the activities in Sudan following the directives from FAS Geneva. JA also supported FAS in the organization of the African Women’s Consultation on Darfur.

Constraints and the Way Forward In its undertakings, FAS has identified the absence of a strong regional network in Africa that works on the economic empowerment of women as a major challenge.

While these groups exist at the national level, there is no continent-wide network that is focused on the promotion and protection of women’s economic rights.

The strengthening of women’s capacities at the grassroots level is the way forward within the networking activities for the coming years as well as showing how Africa is linked to the Global network.

3. Research and Documentation

This year, FAS was privileged to host the Dr Wanjiru Kihoro Fellow who begun work with us in August. This Fellowship is run in collaboration with a private donor.

Background

FAS initiated the Dr. Wanjiru Kihoro Fellowship with the aim of contributing to the development of a new generation of African women leaders who are dedicated to utilising their voices and experience to further women’s central role in peace building and development work in their country, region and continent.

The Fellowship has been established posthumously in honour of a Swiss entrepreneur dedicated to philanthropic activities, especially in Africa, as an effort to bridge the gap between the North and the South. With the passing away in 2004 of the Swiss gentleman, his family wished to extend his legacy and continue his good works through the creation of this fellowship.

At the request of the family, FAS suggested that the fellowship be named in memory of Dr. Wanjiru Kihoro, distinguished economist, feminist, activist and tireless supporter of gender equality, justice and democracy. Dr. Kihoro was a close partner and friend of our organization, working in solidarity for gender equality and women’s advancement on the African continent.

Selection and Implementation

Ms Beatrice Kizi Nzovu from Kenya was the 2008 Award recipient after a rigorous selection committee meeting held on Thursday 10 April 2008.

Ms. Nzovu started the Fellowship programme on 4 th August 2008, with the international secretariat of Femmes Africa Solidarité.

The fellow has been actively engaged in the day-to-day programmatic work of the organization, working in both the daily management work as well as research for FAS activities.

At the FAS Office in Geneva, Ms. Nzovu has been tasked with many duties which she has fulfilled remarkably well. She has been involved in the research, planning and organizing of the International Colloquium on Women’s Empowerment, Leadership Development, International Peace and Security, the project on Engendering the Peace Process in Darfur, Sudan and participated in various meetings on behalf of FAS to gain insight into how an international NGO operates as well as to help shape her mentorship.

As a result of these activities, she has acquired and augmented her practical vocation skills in the fields of research, planning and organizing international events, writing, analysis and communication. She has served in a professional manner, keeping her discretion on issues that she came across and learning how to deal with high level diplomacy in an African context, as well as at the international level.

4. Information and Communication

FAS continued to work on the best practice manual being currently researched. The first best practice manual focuses on FAS’ work in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). The second manual focuses on FAS’ work in the Mano River region of West Africa.

For its major events, FAS researches and writes “Aide Mémoire” background documents. More than twelve presentations were researched, written and presented at events such as the Second Workshop in Madrid, Spain, the African Women’s Consultation on Darfur in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, and the Ivory Coast Pre-Mission.

Advocacy tools

FAS disseminated information notes, press releases and regular newsletters to its members, networks, partners and Media. Generally, information was disseminated by e-mail, as this was the most cost- effective and rapid means of reaching readers. FAS also use the website to disseminate information and make it easily accessible to the public worldwide and FAS staff in all three offices.

This year, FAS presented a statement to the 7 th and 9 th Session of the Human Rights Council in March and September. The issue of concern was the situation of Human Rights in the Sudan. The oral statements were broadcast on the internet.

Press Releases and Information Notes

This year, a total of ten Information Notes and seven Press Releases were written for various FAS events and accomplishments by the Information and Communication Officers at the Geneva and Dakar offices.

All of FAS’ Information Notes and Press Releases for 2008 are available on its website.

Publications and Information Tools

In June, FAS published a Progress Report on the first year of Implementation of NAPs on UNSCR 1325 in Burundi, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Rwanda. FAS submitted the report to the Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Finland (Unit for Eastern and Western Africa) which falls within the funding for development cooperation activities in conflict prevention, crisis management and peace building in Sub-Saharan Africa and under the framework of implementing UN SCR 1325.

It has sought to monitor the implementation of this landmark Resolution in partnership with different stakeholders and networks of civil society organizations (CSOs).

FAS published several Narrative Reports for distribution (also available on our website): • Implementation of the Solemn Declaration on Gender Equality in Africa (SDGEA) - Achievements and Challenges: Drawing Examples from Mozambique. • 12th Pre-Summit Consultative Meeting on Gender - Mainstreaming in the African Union - FAS Contribution: Peace And Security: Insight On UNSCR 1325. • Contribution du Point Focal de la sous Région Afrique Centrale au 2eme rapport alternatif de la Société civile - Congo Brazzaville. • African Centre for Democracy and Human Rights Studies Contribution to shadow Report Thematic Area: Human Rights. • AU Pre-Summit meeting organized by FAS in Sharm El Sheikh: « Gender is my Agenda Campaign ».The economic and gender aspects in Africa. • Establishment of a trust Fund for African women’s Economic Empowerment. A case study of the African women’s Development Fund and Options for the African Union. • Rapport de contribution du Programme SAHARA à la campagne « Genre : Mon Agenda » de Femmes Africa Solidarité sur le thème du VIH/SIDA en Afrique.

FAS Newsletter

Every three months, the Information and Communications Officer in FAS’ Geneva office writes and publishes FAS News . This quarterly newsletter is distributed by e-mail to FAS members, networks, partners and interested individuals.

The updated FAS News is available on the FAS website and so are the old ones.

The newsletter highlights FAS’ more recent activities, as well as upcoming events. In 2008, four issues of FAS News were published (January, April, July and October).

FAS also published the third edition of the Gender is My Agenda Campaign newsletter in January.

Films: • Facilitation workshop for the implementation of the " Training and Mentoring program for women-led businesses project in Liberia, South Africa, Democratic Republic of Congo, Mozambique, Senegal and Rwanda ". • “ Training and Mentoring Programme for Women-led Business Project ”. • Two films on the “Atelier de Renforcement de Capacités des Parlementaires de la République Démocratique du Congo en Genre, Droits Humains et Gouvernance".

Communication • Liaison with Local and International Media For the 12 th Pre-Summit in Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt, FAS worked with: • Panapress • African Pan Organization • Ghana news Agency (GNA)

Several media covered FAS events during the year: • Amina for the Salon du Livre; • Casafree, APA News and Panapress for the Mission in Zimbabwe; • The Spanish CincoDias, 4años and La Gaceta for the Women Training in Madrid; • Panapress and the Agence de Presse Sénégalaise for the DRC Parliamentarians Training; • The Senegalese press Le Soleil, Sudan online, Panapress, Walf Fadjri covered the 26 Women Training in Dakar.

FAS regularly invited media such as Ben TV, RTS, RDV and RFI to cover its events. The Information and Communication Office in Geneva worked closely with the Dakar Office to determine which media to invite to cover a FAS event outside Geneva.

Aside from media coverage of FAS events, several media contacted FAS throughout 2008 for interviews. FAS’ works and mission were the focus of an article in the November/December number of Geneva Times.

Mrs Diop was also interviewed for European Development Days 2008 in Strasbourg, France.

The 50-year-old French magazine African International gave FAS a Community Action Trophy for its achievements and efforts in Africa. The fact was also reported on Afrik.com .

Constraints, Opportunities and the Way Forwards

The constraints FAS meets are concerning the budget which impede secure media coverage as would be desirable, in particular for FAS major events. However, the media interest and support across the 2008 was consistent and satisfactory. Furthermore, a deeper monitoring and evaluation of activities are needed to better face the future challenges of the Information and Communication office.

The stronger and closer relation with the same media represents an opportunity for FAS to have more visibility at national and international level. The efforts in field and the implementation of projects and events are well appreciated and highlighted.

The Geneva and Dakar Information and Communication offices are focusing their activities on the implementation of a new strategy and a more strict management of information .

5. Coordination

FAS worked conscientiously to increase the effectiveness of the human resources within the three offices of the organisation.

Last year, the organisation streamlined the communication systems to make it easier to communicate between Geneva, Dakar and New York and this year saw an improved dialogue by the staff.

The methods of communication on a daily basis are by telephone, fax, email, Skype and the database that is available on the website which can be accessed by all employees in the three offices.

It conducted numerous activities which enabled staff of all our three offices to interact and strengthen relationships. Such combined activities aim to reinforce communication and capacity-building between the three FAS offices.

FAS Staff and Offices

Regional Office, Dakar (Senegal)

FAS' staff in Dakar: Aimé Akpatou, Meredith Stricker, Aminata Dieye, Alessandra Bo, Moussa Diop, Mme Ndour, Alice Massari, Rosalie Lo, Mme Durand

Since it became operational in 2005, the Regional Office in Dakar has been responsible for implementation of all programmes in Africa. These are programmes in the Great Lakes Region, Mano River Region and part of the Sudan programme.

This year, a number of trainings were held involving women in small scale businesses under a programme run with the Spanish Government and a training workshop for DRC members of Parliament. These were organised through the Pan African Centre which is run from our Dakar office.

The Regional Office was also the focal point for the organization of the 10th and 11th Pre-Summit Consultative Meetings on Gender Mainstreaming in the African Union that were held in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia and Sharm el Sheikh, Egypt respectively. It also produced a number of publications and DVDs thus helping to document all our work.

The full-time staff at the Regional Office in Dakar consists of a Programme Officer, Information and Communication Officer, an Administration and Finance Officer, a Coordinator for the Pan African Centre, and a Coordination Officer.

Throughout the year, the office relied on three motivated interns who provided support to the full time staff.

International Secretariat, Geneva (Switzerland)

FAS' staff in Geneva during 2008:Sonal Sirivastava, Ms. Diop, Sol Pradelli, Marianna Pavan and Coumba Fall (front row), Behind: Beatrice Kizi Nzovu, Patricia Moukalla, Stephanie Matter, Paula Carmagnani, and Dior Dupuy- Camara

The International Secretariat, based in Geneva, co-ordinates programmes in Africa, does fundraising and serves as a contact point for international organizations, NGOs and donor agencies.

The Secretariat staff participated in various activities of the Human Rights Council, the meetings of the CONGO, the NGO/CSW and the Working Group on Peace as well as other meetings in Geneva.

The Secretariat held a team building session in September to build capacity and reinforce a comprehensive vision of FAS mission, objective and role of each staff member and the relations with the staff of the other offices. FAS also held regular weekly staff meetings to review the work done and plan upcoming activities.

In March, coinciding with the sessions of the Human Rights Council, FAS organised staff trainings to familiarize them with the Human Rights Council and the various instruments that deal with women’s protection under the UN and the African Union.

The trainings were entitled “United Nations Security Council Resolution 1325: A Legal Instrument Regarding Women, Peace and Security”; Introduction to CEDAW, Human Rights Council and African Union Legal Instruments”. These sessions were facilitated by professional men and women highly skilled in the UN agencies and other international organisations.

The full-time staff at the Secretariat in Geneva consists of the Executive Director, a Coordination Officer, a Finance Officer and a coordinator for the African Gender Forum and Award. FAS relied on the work of interns in the following functions: Partnership and Fundraising; Networking and Outreach; Information and Communication; Research; Monitoring and Evaluation.

The Geneva office organized a 2 nd team building workshop in September, to orient the new staff to the organisation. The workshop was attended by all the new interns and the permanent staff. Ms. Diop made the presentation.

Liaison Office, New York, USA

From left to right: Coumba Fofana, Fatim Tambadou-Diallo, Fulani Muyenzikai, Anais Audoux and Adama Diop

FAS’ Liaison Office in New York was first set up in late 2004 to provide FAS with permanent representation in New York and at the deliberations of the organs and agencies of the UN system, as focal point.

The Liaison Office in New York is represented by a Coordination Officer and one to four support interns in Research, Partnership, Networking and Communication. During the year, the New York Office was very active in the different meetings and events organized by the NGO Working Group on Women, Peace and Security, the CONGO Committee on HIV/AIDS, the UN and partner UN agencies.

In an effort to enhance FAS’ work and move the African women’s agenda forward, the liaison office participated in March, in the 52nd Session of the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) in New York.

The event was a success because of the strong collaboration between the three FAS offices. Representatives from the office attended the GIMAC pre-summit in Addis Ababa in January and the Human Rights Council in Geneva in March.

The New York Team held a team building session in November with the four interns. The session helped build the team capacity and emphasize FAS’ vision, mission and goals. Adequate staffing has been a challenge in the New York Office during the year 2008. FAS top management is looking into ways to overcome this obstacle for the coming years.

6. Executive Board

FAS is assisted in its work by members of its Executive and Advisory Boards, Members and Associate Members.

Selected in accordance with their outstanding achievements in the promotion of peace and the attainment of women’s rights in Africa, FAS Executive Board Members contribute voluntarily to the implementation of FAS’ programmes in the field and represent FAS at events essential for the fulfilment of its objectives.

Members meet at a General Assembly every three years in a plenary session where Board members are nominated and general policies and activities are reviewed and planned.

The Executive Board meets at least once every year to follow-up on programme implementation including financial and activity report.

Constraints, Opportunities and the Way Forward

2008 was similar to the previous year in terms of limited human resources to cover all the FAS programmes.

Despite the staff being qualified and committed to the principles that guide the organization, they found themselves challenged to effectively implement programmes. Support from teams of up to 5 interns, who work on a sixth-months basis, has been very valuable, but training and acclimatisation takes time when new groups enter. This turn-over of interns impacts negatively on the smooth running of the offices.

In order to effectively sustain its work, FAS needs institutional support. This will allow the organization to hire full time professionals to carry out its work in a more efficient manner

7. Monitoring and Evaluation

The effectiveness of FAS’ programme is ensured through the development of relevant monitoring and evaluation systems at all levels so as to influence the engendering of policies and programmes. Mechanisms are also supported to evaluate women’s participation in advocacy and training on UN SCR 1325 becoming an important guiding tool for FAS in making its assessments.

FAS created the post of Monitoring and Evaluation intern at its international Secretariat to support the regional Office.

FAS’ Monitoring and Evaluation system

FAS’ Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E) syst em was developed and finally put in place in November 2005. The system was developed due to a need to create a systematic framework in order to facilitate and improve the work process and evaluate FAS’ activities and functions. The current M&E system uses a number of different quantitative and qualitative tools to accomplish its objectives.

These are implemented at the following level:

• The Reporting Guidelines: a set of guidelines and instructions concerning the objectives and outputs of various activities which FAS staff members use to guide them in systematically reporting, tracking and evaluating an activity or event.

• The Event Activity Report: the reporting guidelines are used to produce event/activity reports for all events attended by FAS. Qualitative and quantitative assessment indicators are made visible and recorded for further evaluation.

• The Annual Audited Accounts: audited accounts are produced by an external auditor each year and are sent to all stakeholders who request them.

• The Annual Financial Report: the annual financial report provides more detail than the annual audited accounts. It includes a comparison of actual results against budgeted, expenses and revenues and by key objectives and projects.

• The Annual Narrative Report: presents the results of the year’s activities at each programme level and by function, with the inclusion of the year’s achievements, constraints and opportunities. This report gives narrative detail on events which FAS organized, participated in, or attended during the year.

Evaluation tools

Questionnaires for events such as conferences and seminars : Participants of conferences organized by FAS are requested to fill in questionnaires to assess on one hand the organizational side of the event and more importantly the quality of the programme and interventions. The questionnaire is usually composed of a number of closed answers and a second part of open questions that allow a more personalized feedback.

Evaluation forms for training : An evaluation is conducted by trainers together with their local partners to ensure the fulfilment of the objectives of each workshop. Participants are requested to fill an evaluation form and comment on several components of the training: • Organization of Conference/Training; • Provision of Training/conference; • Support Trainers/Facilitators; • Content of Training programme; • Follow up to Training.

Project mini-evaluation : Throughout the duration of its projects, FAS conducts a series of mini- evaluations to ensure that projects are developing according to plans and to make adjustments where necessary.

Constraints, Opportunities and the Way Forward

FAS has experienced some constraints regarding the monitoring and evaluation function. At the field level, it has been able to use some tools such as evaluation forms to collect the feedback from the participants.

Nevertheless, due to the shortage of staff members, FAS has not always been able to analyse all the information in a timely Fashion.

Although there are constraints encountered to carry out activities in conflict areas, the direct contact established during field visits allowed once again the better understanding and overcoming of many issues. Therefore the organization is currently focusing on enhancing its presence in the field, given also the high visibility that FAS projects have and the interest they provoke.

More work needs to be done on the empowerment of the beneficiaries of our activities as well as on their ownership of the project’s gains.

Furthermore, FAS will work actively in the improvement of data collection, especially regarding the adequate deployment of the M&E tools. Finally the organization will have to take into serious consideration the recommendations drafted by the consultants after the missions carried out in the field.

FAS is currently putting every effort in building a more solid M&E system in order to overcome the past constraints and create stronger commitment of the whole FAS staff to the collection and monitoring of the data related to every undertaken activity.

V. CHALLENGES, LESSONS LEARNT AND WAY FORWARD

Challenges

2008 was a pivotal year for FAS. The organisation faced a number of challenges that ranged from lack of institutional support to those relating to the implementation of its activities. Regrettably, there was no institutional support in the year 2008which put the human resource development programme of the organisation at risk. Without this support, all the plans to increase the human resources and lessen dependence on interns could not be achieved.

The implementation of activities in the field was faced with some challenges including: • Cultural and political influences that prevented women from participating in programmes • Inability of trained women to reach grassroots women to enable them benefit from the programmes due to insufficient funding • Insufficient funding to implement FAS’ programmes • Bridging the gap between African women leaders and grassroots women for constituency building and accountability • Building the capacity for women’s positive leadership and encouraging the full involvement of young women peace builders • Taking systematically into account women’s specific needs in reconstruction programmes by the African member-states and the international community • Reinforcing African traditional mechanisms for conflict management and developing gender sensitive early warning and early response mechanisms • Reconciling the need for justice and reparation with the need to rebuilding strong nation states • Linking the women agenda for peace with new emerging issues e.g. climate change • Increasing and sustaining the potential of the Pan African Centre for Gender, Peace and Development on research, training and sharing of knowledge between grassroots practitioners and academics for the institutional sustainability of FAS

Lessons learned

It became apparent as programmes were being implemented that FAS needed to balance the interests of various different groups so as to be able achieve its goal. For example, in conflict-torn countries of the Mano River, Great Lakes regions and the Horn of Africa (Sudan), differing interests threatened to derail the process of creating durable peace. The interests of Governments, civil society groups, and individuals had to be harmonised. This required that pre-meetings be held with the different groups’ representatives before the main Forums in order to find a way to ensure that their goals were the same.

For capacity building, discussions had to be held with the women to talk about their needs before formulating modules. This was because some customs and traditions prevent many from participating in peace building or income generating activities.

At the international level, more work is needed to increase the capacity of grassroots women’s groups, particularly those of Sudan, to increase their visibility at the Human Rights Council and the Security Council including the CEDAW Committee. An ongoing challenge, due to limited resources, is to bring women from the grassroots level to speak for themselves at these international gatherings.

Way forward

Notwithstanding the challenges encountered for the institutional support and during implementation of the programmes, FAS were able to find new sources of funding to continue our work.

Furthermore, FAS will continue to develop the project titled: ‘Engendering the Peace Process in Darfur, Sudan’ in 2009. It is a three year project and FAS will proceed with its planned activities.

The Spanish government continued to support the Women Led Business project for us to hold two trainings for 26 African small scale businesswomen.

A fundraising strategy will be established to publicize the FAS Action Plan for 2008-2013 through Donor Round tables in New York, Geneva and Addis Ababa and through trips to donor countries.

FAS hopes to continue its partnership with the Corymbo Foundation, to offer a Fellowship opportunity to a young African woman or man. The Fellow will have occasion to gain practice at the international level, including through work with the United Nations Human Rights Council, while actively participating in the activities of an NGO through research and writing. This experience will subsequently facilitate the transfer of knowledge to organizations in the field.

FAS shall also continue running all other core programmes: African Gender Award and Forum, advocacy at the AU and UN agencies, the Pre Summits and the PAC.

VI. PARTNERS

FAS gratefully acknowledges the financial support from the following key partners:

• Action Aid • African Women’s Development Fund (AWDF) • The African Union (AU) • Private Donor • Department For International Development (DFID) of the United Kingdom Government • The Government of Finland • The Government of Italy • The Government of Norway • The Government of Senegal • The Government of Spain • The International Organization for Migration (IOM) • Justice Africa • The Open Society Initiative for West Africa (OSIWA) • Roll Back Malaria Partnership • The United Nations Democracy Fund (UNDEF) • The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)- Regional Programme for Africa • The United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA) • The United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) • The United Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM) • The University for Peace (UPEACE)

ANNEXES

APPENDIX No.1

1. Femmes Africa Solidarité

Background Femmes Africa Solidarité (FAS) is a women's non-governmental organization (NGO) working to engender the peace process in Africa, more specifically in the Great Lakes region and the Mano River region. Since its inception in 1996, FAS has worked to foster, strengthen and promote the leading role of women in the prevention, management and resolution of conflicts on the African continent. FAS recognizes that women are disproportionately affected by violent conflicts; rather than perceiving women as passive victims, FAS acknowledges that women are active agents with skills, strengths, and the ability to bring about change. With this in mind, FAS works to strengthen the capacities of grassroots women's organizations so that they can participate fully in the processes of peace-building and conflict resolution in their countries and communities. FAS' International Secretariat, based in Geneva, Switzerland, coordinates programmes in Africa and serves as a point of contact for international organizations, NGOs and partners. It also facilitates the mobilization of resources and maximizes the visibility of African women’s initiatives. Additionally, FAS has a permanent representative in New York, located near the United Nations, to facilitate its presence at the international level, and has opened a Regional Office in Dakar in 2005, to guarantee effective collaboration with women’s organizations in Africa. The three offices work in a coordinated manner to link sub-regional, regional and international programmes FAS is headed by an Executive Director, an Executive Board, an Advisory Board, and Members and Associate Member NGOs in 29 African countries . FAS has Special Consultative Status with the United Nations Economic and Social Council ( ECOSOC ); Observer Status with the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights ( ACHPR ); Consultative Status with the Organisation Internationale de la Francophonie ( OIF ); Association Status with the United Nations Department of Public Information ( DPI ); and membership to the Economic, Social and Cultural Council of the African Union ( ECOSOCC ). FAS also received an IOM observer status in November 2007 (Member to the General Assembly), and is Vice-President of the board of CONGO. FAS also coordinates the “Gender is my Agenda” campaign and co-chairs the Committee on the Status of Women’s Working Group for Peace in Geneva - an organ of the Conference of Non- Governmental Organizations in Consultative Status with the United Nations (CONGO). Further, FAS is a member of the NGO Working Group on Women, Peace and Security in New York and is also a member of the Gender Task Force of the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD) . FAS’ Executive Director is a member and Vice Chairperson of the African Union Women’s Committee (AUWC), an advisory body to the Chairperson of the AU Commission on gender issues; and a member of the board of the Arab International Women’s Forum (AIWF).

Vision FAS vision is to empower African women to assume a leadership role in peace building for sustainable development and to mainstream gender into policies and programmes relating to peace, security and development.

Mission FAS’ mission is to: • Promote and reinforce the critical role of women in conflict resolution and peace building in Africa; • Strengthen women’s leadership capacities to play this role • Advocate for increased attention to African women's concerns on the issues of peace and security; • Strengthen women’s influence on relevant political processes, and promote gender mainstreaming in peace and security programmes at the national, regional and international levels.

Objectives FAS seeks to meet the following objectives: • To give value to women’s initiatives, enhance their capabilities and promote their rights as fully- fledged participants in peace making and peace building in their countries; • To push for the creation of new social systems that allow women to have equal access to responsibilities and decision making; • To build networks among women and strengthen their capacities as a group to enable them to make an impact in all spheres and at all levels; • To encourage and support women in developing the self-confidence to participate in the struggle to institutionalize gender equality in national and sub-regional peace processes; • To advocate for gender mainstreaming in national, sub-regional, regional and continental policies and programmes.

Strategies In order to meet these objectives, FAS employs the following strategies: • Advocacy and lobbying in a variety of forums, alongside local, regional, sub regional and international institutions, to promote greater involvement of women in decision-making processes and ensuring that their interests are taken into account; • Capacity Building. Builds capacities of local women’s NGOs through training and experience sharing; • Development of Networks and Partnerships: Mobilizes and encourages women to put forward their peace initiatives at all levels Supports local women’s NGOs to establish networks with various actors both within Africa and internationally, thus maximizing the use of resources; Builds partnerships at the national, sub regional, regional and international levels on issues of common concern such as women's participation in peace processes, violence against women, child soldiers, refugee women, HIV/AIDS, and disarmament; • Research and dissemination of information on women’s best practices for peace building in Africa.

Moreover, FAS focuses on the following issues: • Promotion of Democracy through workshops and training sessions in civic education. FAS has also monitored a number of elections, for example in Liberia, Sierra Leone and DRC. • Justice for Women - Justice for Humanity. FAS is committed to the pursuit of justice against perpetrators of war crimes and violators of women's human rights . In keeping with this commitment, FAS develops and advocates for measures to ensure that national and international legislation in Africa protects women's rights . It also recognizes the link between justice for victims and lasting peace in communities.

As part of this work, FAS participated in the drafting and implementation of the Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights on the Rights of Women in Africa, which includes a clause to address the culture of impunity and aims to establish mechanisms for justice.

2. Members, Committee and Networks FAS is composed of Members and Associate Members of NGOs from 35 African countries. It has an Executive Board of 8 members and an Advisory Board composed of 10 eminent personalities. Members of FAS contribute voluntarily to the implementation of its programme in the field by conducting training seminars and participating in advocacy activities. Also FAS has set several support committees, composed of Members, partners and independent experts, which are consulted in the specific activities as a think-tank.

Members

Executive Board (8)

• Awori Thelma, Former Head of the Africa Bureau of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), President of Isis-Women's International Cross-Cultural Exchange, Uganda • Baricako Marie-Louise, Chair of the Executive Board of Femmes Africa Solidarité (FAS), Burundi • Diop Bineta, FAS Executive Director, Senegal • Jusu-Sheriff Yasmine, Solicitor and Barrister, High Court for Sierra Leone, Focal Point for West Africa and the Mano River region • Maiga Soyata, Vice-President of the Malian Association of Lawyers, Rapporteur on the Women Human Rights in Africa, Mali • Monekosso Ticky, Consultant, Communications & Public Information Afromedia, FAS Treasurer, France • Ondziel Julienne, Former President of the Executive Board of FAS, Focal Point for the Great Lakes region, Republic of Congo • Orleyn Thandi, Former National Director of the Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration (CCMA), Lawyer, Focal Point for South Africa

Advisory Board (15)

• Agrebi Hon. Saida, President of Tunisian Mothers’ Association, Member of the Pan-African Parliament • Aumeeruddy-Cziffra Hon. Shirin, Ombudsperson for Children, Lawyer, Attorney General, Mauritius • Ba Hassan, Advisor to the President of the Republic of Senegal • Derryck-Lowery Vivian, Senior Vice-President and Director of Public Private Partnerships, Academy for Educational Development, USA • Hammad Dr. Aleya, Secretary General, Women Defending Peace; Co-Founder- Suzanne Mubarak Women's International Peace Movement; Former Deputy Director WHO, Egypt • Koubarath Osseini Kadiatou, President of the National Federation of Women’s Associations of Benin • Machel H.E. Graça Simbine, President of the Foundation for Community Development, Mozambique • Mongella H.E. Gertrude , President of the Pan African Parliament and Founder of Advocacy for Women in Africa, Tanzania • Perry H.E. Ruth Sando, Former Acting Head of State of the Republic of Liberia • Rehn Hon. Elisabeth, Former Vice-Secretary General of the United Nations, and Minister of Defense of Finland, Independent Expert for the United Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM) • Sahnoun Ambassador Mohammed, Special Representative of the United Nations Secretary General for Africa, Algeria

• Schori Pierre, Special Representative of the United Nations Secretary General and Head of the United Nations Operation in Cote d’Ivoire (UNOCI) • Tall Hon. Aminata, Minister of State of the Republic of Senegal • Toure H.E. President Amadou Toumani, Head of State of the Republic of Mali, President of the “Fondation pour l’Enfance” • Zuma , Hon. Dr Nkosazana Dlamini, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of South Africa

Associate Members (19)

• Advocacy for Women in Africa (AWA), Tanzania • Afromedia-Communication , France • Association Congolaise de Lutte contre la Violence faite aux Femmes et aux filles (ACOVLF), Republic of Congo • Association Nationale de Soutien aux Enfants en difficultés et en Institutions (ANSEDI), Algeria • Association Sénégalaise de protection et de promotion des droits de l'enfance et de la femme (ASPRODEF), Sénégal • Cadre Permanent de Concertation des Femmes Congolaises (CAFECO), DRC • Caucus of Congolese Women , DRC • Collectif des associations et ONG Féminines du Burundi (CAFOB), Burundi • Ethiopian Women Lawyers Association (EWLA), Ethiopia • Femmes et Processus de Paix , Burundi • Mano River Women Peace Network (MARWOPNET), Liberia • Mouvement des femmes pour la paix et l’unité nationale du Mali, Mali • National Union of Eritrean Women , Eritrea • Perry Centre , Liberia • Pro-Femmes/Twese Hamwe , Rwanda • Save Somali Women and Children (SSWC), Somalia • Sudanese Women’s Voice for Peace , Sudan • Tunisian Mothers’ Association (TMA), Tunisia • Women as Partners for Peace in Africa (WOPPA-DRC),

Members (46)

• Abdeljabar H.E. Selma, Former Minister of Social Affairs of Libya • Ahmed Halima, Secretary General, Parliament of Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), Nigeria • Akande Jadesola (Prof.), Executive Director, Women, Law and Development Centre, Nigeria • Allafi Hon. Agnès Maïmouna, Former Minister of Social Affairs of Chad • Amisi Bertha, Former Programme Advisor, Research and Documentation, NPI Africa • Avemeka Hon. Marie-Therese, Former Minister of Women Integration and Development, Republic of Congo • Aw Eugénie Rokhaya, Directrice CESTI, Senegal • Balipou Brigitte, President of the Children’s Tribunal, Central African Republic, Chad • Barki Aicha, President « Association Algérienne d'Alphabétisation "IQRAA" • Basbas Hibaaq Osman, President and CEO, Centre for Strategic Initiatives of Women, Sudan • Biyong Pauline, President of the League for the Education of Women and Children, Cameroun • Camara Ramata Tambadou, Jurist, Mali • Cissé Catherine, Former Special Advisor in charge of External Affairs of the Prosecutor, International Court Tribunal, The Netherlands

• Deigna Nicole, President of NGO Repères, Cote d’Ivoire • Diall Fatoumata, H.E., Ambassador, Human Rights Advisor to the President, Mali • Dyfan Isha L., Sierra Leonean Barrister and women’s rights campaigner • El Barki Zeinab, Vice President, African Development Bank, Egypt • Eya Nchama Blondine-Uwimana , Founder "Association REFUGE/ICYUGAMO", Rwanda • Fiankan-Bokonga Catherine, Journalist, Cote d’Ivoire • Gamatié Bayard Mariama, President of Femmes et Famille, Niger • Gawanas Bience, Commissioner at the Commission of the African Union (AU), Namibia • George Christiana Adokiye, Gender Expert, Hub for Rural Development in West and Central Africa, Nigeria • Goffri Marie-France, Lawyer, Cote d’Ivoire • Goma Yvonne, President of the Zambian Federation of Associations of Women in Business (ZFAWIB) • Kalinde Sophie Asimenye, Former Permanent Observer of the Organization of African Unity to the UN in Geneva, Malawi • Kpegba-Dotsi Kafui, Former Parliamentarian, Togo • Lamptey Comfort, Gender Advisor, Department of Peacekeeping Operations, Ghana • Leckomba Loumeto Pombo H.E. Jeanne Françoise, Minister of Women Affairs, Republic of Congo • Loum Elise, Member of PanAfrican Parliament, Chad • Mends-Cole Joyce, UNHCR Country Representative in Namibia, Liberia • Miganda Perpetue, Consultant and Member of CAFOB, Burundi • Mokoko Safi Sow, Entrepreneur, Republic of Cong • Mujawamariya Hon. Dr Monique, President , Mobilisation Enfants du Monde (MEM), Human Rights Consultant in Canada • Muller Koulagna Oumoul, Director, Ets HIBISCU, Cameroon • Mumba H.E. Florence, Judge at the International Tribunal for former Yugoslavia, Zambia • Musa Lilian, Former Director of Administration and Finances of Pith Helmet Industries, Zimbabwe • Olabisi Bola, Founder and Director, Global Women Inventors & Innovators Network, UK • Pereira Francisca, Former Minister of the Interior and Deputy at the National Assembly of the Republic of Guinea Bissau • Savane Marie-Angelique, Member of the African Peer Review Mechanism (APRM), Senegal • Sebera Marthe, Secretary-general and founding member of the Rwanda Women Leader’s Caucus, Lawyer and member of Pro-Femme/Twese Hamwe, Rwanda • Simbizi H.E. Appolonie, Conseillère, Bureau du Président de la République de Burundi • Steady Filomena, Professor and Chair of Africana Studies at Wellesley College, Sierra Leone • Sutherland-Addy Esi, Research Fellow at the Institute of African Studies, Ghana • Tekkle Atsedewine, President of Ethiopian Women Lawyers Association, Ethiopia • Teriba Yetunde, Women Gender and Development Directorate, AU Commission, Nigeria • Yamo Helen, Former FAS Coordinator, Kenya

Committees

Coordination Committee of the PanAfrican Centre for Gender, Peace and Development

• Aw Eugenie Rokhaya, Directrice CESTI, Senegal • Baricako Germain, UN Mission in Sudan, Sudan • Butera Dr Jean Bosco, Director of the UPEACE Africa Programme, Ethiopia • Coll-Seck Awa Marie, Dr., Executive Secretary, Roll Back Malaria Partnership, Switzerland • Diop Salimata Dieng, Head of Services, Sonatel, Senegal

• Diouf Pr. Ndiaw , Doyen Faculté des Sciences Juridiques et Politiques • Doucouré Khadidja, CAEF • Fall Général Pape Khalil, Former Chef d’Etat Major Général des Forces Armées, Ambassador of Senegal in the Republic of China • Gomes Paulo, Former World Bank Executive Administrator, President of The Constelor Group Washington D.C., USA • Janneh Abdoulie, Executive Secretary of the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) • Kama Mansour, President of the National Confederation of Employers of Senegal • Kebe Cheikh Mbacké, Administrator-Director General, Kébé Holding S.A. Investment • Monnet Marguerite, Psychologist, Consultant on Human Resources • Murithi Dr. Tim, Senior Researcher, Direct Conflict Prevention Programme, Institute for Security Studies • Sall Dr. Ibrahima, Codesria • Sarr-Sow Fatou, IFAN • Wade LT Colonel Mamane, Etat Major Général de l’Armée, Senegal

Selection Committee of the African Gender Award (14)

• Aderinwale Ayodele, Director, Africa Leadership Forum, Nigeria • Adjamagbo-Johnson Kafui, Sub-Regional Coordinator, WiLDAF-WA, Togo • Agrebi Hon. Saida, Honorable, Member of Parliament, President Tunisian Mothers Association, Tunisia • Akinsanmi Titi , GTP Program Manager, Mindset Network, South Africa • Awori Thelma, Former Head of UNDP Africa Bureau, Executive Board Member of the African Women’s development Fund, President of Isis-WICCE, Uganda • Derryck Vivian Lowery, Senior Vice President and Director of Public Private Partnerships, Academy for Educational Development, USA • Diop Bineta, Executive Director, Femmes Africa Solidarité, Senegal • Gomes Paulo, Former World Bank Executive Administrator, President of The Constelor Group Washington D.C., USA • Gounden Vasu, Founder and Executive Director of African Centre for the Constructive Resolution of Disputes (ACCORD), South Africa • Janneh Abdoulie, Executive Secretary, UN Economic Commission on Africa, Ethiopia • Mongella Hon. Ambassador Gertrude, President of the Pan-African Parliament, Tanzania • Narh Janet , Radio and TV Broadcaster, UK (late) • Ondziel Julienne, Practicing Lawyer, Former Rapporteur on Women’s Rights, Congo, Former FAS Board Chairperson • Ouedraogo Halidou, Former President of the Mouvement Burkinabé des Droits de l'Homme et des Peuples, Burkina Faso

Geneva Task Force Members (13)

• Bloem Renata, Past President Conference of NGOs in Consultative Status with the UN(CONGO), • Coll-Seck Awa Marie, Dr., Executive Director, Roll Back Malaria Partnership Secretariat, • Coulibaly Leroy Sandra, Observateur permanente adjoint, Délégation permanent de l’Organisation Internationale de la Francophonie • Diouf Pape Ndiaye, Professor , The Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies

• Eya Nchama Cruz Melchior, State of Geneva, Office of Integration • Hammad Aleya, Dr., Secretary General, Women Defending Peace; Co-Founder- Suzanne Mubarak Women's International Peace Movement; Former Deputy Director WHO • Maillefer Danielle, Representative, Initiatives of Change International Caux Foundation • Monekosso Ticky, Consultant, Communications & Public Information Afromedia • Ndiaye Ndioro , Deputy Director General, International Organization for Migration • Payne Ameena, Former Africa Programme Coordinator, University for Peace • Poncini Conchita, President of the Non Government Organization on the Commission on the Status of Women in Geneva • Sahnoun Mohammed, H.E., Special Representative of the United Nations Secretary General for Africa • Tinde Tina, Special Adviser on Gender Issues, UNHCR Headquarter

New York Task Force Members (6)

• Collin Marks Susan, Executive Vice President of Search for Common Ground • Davis Dorothy, President Diasporan Touch, USA • Derryck Vivian Lowery, Senior Vice President and Director of Public Private Partnerships, Academy for Educational Development, USA • Diop Diobé, Entrepreneur, Director of Baobab Restaurant • Tulchin Rachel, Former FAS Intern • Vogt Margaret, Special Assistant to the UN Assistant Secretary General for Political Affairs

Networks

Sub-regional

• Mano River region: Marwopnet Secretariat in Sierra Leone; Marwopnet Chapter in Liberia, Marwopnet Chapter in Guinea • Great Lakes region: Cadre Permanent de Concertation des Femmes Congolaises (CAFECO) in DRC; Collectif Pro-Femmes/Twese Hamwe in Rwanda; Collectif des Associations et ONG Féminines du Burundi (CAFOB) in Burundi • Horn of Africa: Save Somali Women and Children, in Somali; Ethiopian Women Lawyers Association, Ethiopia; National Union of Eritrean Women, Eritrea; Sudanese Voice for Peace; Sudanese Women Forum

Network of the “Gender is my Agenda” campaign

Focal Points

Thematic

• Governance : Africa Leadership Forum (ALF), • Human Rights : Women in Law and Development in Africa (WILDAF, • African Centre for Democracy and Human Rights Studies (ACDHRS) • Peace and Security : Femmes Africa Solidarité (FAS), African Centre for Constructive Resolution of Disputes (ACCORD), Safer Africa • Health : Roll Back Malaria (RBM), Social Aspects of HIV/AIDS Research Alliance (SAHARA), Society for Women and AIDS in Africa (SWAA),

• Education : Forum for Africa Women Educationalists (FAWE), African Network for the Campaign on “Education for All” (ANCEFA), • Economic Empowerment : African Women’s Development Fund (AWDF), Egyptian Business Women Association (EBWA)

Regional

• Western Africa: West African Women Association (WAWA) • Northern Africa : Tunisian Mothers’ Association (ATM) • Southern Africa : Foundation for Community Development (FDC) • Central Africa : Association Congolais de Lutte contre les Violences faites aux Femmes (ACOLVF) • Eastern Africa : Advocacy for Women in Africa (AWA)

Other Organizations participating

• AAWORD, ABANTU for Development, Akina Mama Wa Africa, ANSEDI, • Cadre Permanent de Concertation des Femmes Congolaises (CAFECO), CAFOB, Center For Human Rights (CHR), Commission for Gender Equality (CGE), CONAFED, Equality Now, FEMNET, International African Committee (IAC), International Federation of Women Lawyers (FIDA), Isis-WICCE, MARWOPNET, Nairobi Peace Initiative (NPI), REPERES, Pan African Movement, Pro-Femmes, SSWC, Women’s Society of Alfateh

International

• Conference of Non-Governmental Organizations in Consultative Relationship with the United Nations (CONGO), Geneva • Working Group on Peace of the NGO Commission on the Status of Women, Geneva • NGO Working Group on Women, Peace and Security, New York

2. Acronyms

ACDHRS African Centre for Democracy and Human Rights Studies ACHPR African Commission for Human and People’s Rights APF African Partnership Forum AU African Union AUGD African Union Gender Directorate AUWC African Union Women’s Committee AWDF African Women’s Development Fund AWEPA The Association of European Parliamentarians for Africa CAFOB Collectif des associations et ONG féminines du BURUNDI CEB Chief Executive Board CEDAW Convention on the Elimination of All forms of Discrimination Against Women CONGO Conference of Non Governmental Organizations CSO Civil Society Organisation DAW Division for the Advancement of Women DFID Department for International Development (UK) DRC Democratic Republic of Congo ECOSOCC The Economic, Social and Cultural Council of the African Union ECOWAS Economic Community of West African States GIMAC Gender is My Agenda Campaign GLR Great Lakes Region GTY German Technical Cooperation HRC Human Rights Council IC/GLR International Conference on the Great Lakes Region ICRC International Committee of the Red Cross IOM International Organization for Migration MOU Memorandum of Understanding NEPAD New Partnership for Africa's Development CSW Commission on the Status of Women FAS Femmes Africa Solidarité MARWOPNET Mano River Women’s Peace Network NAP National Action Plan NGO Non Governmental Organisation NGOWG NGO Working Group on Women, Peace and Security OHCHR Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights OECD Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development OIF Organisation Internationale de la Francophonie OSIWA Open Society Initiative for West Africa PAC Pan African Centre for Gender and Development SDGEA Solemn Declaration on Gender Equality UN SCR UN Security Council Resolution UN ECOSOC UN Economic and Social Council UN United Nations UNDEF United Nations Democracy Fund UNDP United Nations Development Programme UNECA United Nations Economic Commission for Africa UNICEF United Nations Children’s Fund UNHCR United Nations High Commission for Refugees UNIFEM United Nations Development Fund for Women UNOWA United Nations Office for West Africa UPEACE University for Peace WGDD Women Gender and Development Directorate WILPF Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom YWCA Young Women Christian Association